


Stark Family

by saladqueen



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Adoption, Angst, Angst and Fluff, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Family, Fluff, Irondad, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sexual Content, Tags May Change, There's a lot of things going on ok, Tony and May adopt Peter, Tony and May are dating, Tony is a good dad, awkward teenage sex, peter is in love, relationships, tags contain spoilers duh
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-28
Updated: 2019-02-03
Packaged: 2019-03-10 17:34:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 37
Words: 100,255
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13506438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saladqueen/pseuds/saladqueen
Summary: The day Peter walks in on his aunt and Tony Stark in his apartment is the day his life turns upside down. Not only does he now have to deal with his developing feelings for MJ, but also Tony Stark being his aunt's boyfriend - and eventually, his dad.





	1. Walking in

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello and welcome everyone! This is the first fanfiction I've ever written, and I'm a bit nervous. Partly because I have no idea what people will think about this thing between Tony and May. Well, hopefully you'll enyoj it! My plan is that this is going to be a pretty long story, I only have a few ideas of storylines and stuff, and definitely no plans about the ending. New chapters will probably be posted on Sundays, but maybe some time during the week as well if I have time. Alright, I think that's it for now, enjoy!

Peter thought May would never meet someone again after Ben.

He'd asked her about it, hesitantly, a few months after the accident. Even though he couldn't imagine someone else coming into their life, he stilled worried about May being alone. Yes, she had him, but maybe that wasn't enough for her. And even though he never mentioned it, he had noticed small things like May starting to buy from cheaper food brands and always coming up with an excuse as to why she couldn't take Peter to go shopping for new clothes that day.

But she'd just shrugged with a soft smile and said that she was happy with it just being the two of them. So he thought it would.

That was, until he walked in on his aunt and Tony Stark sitting together on the couch in his living room, both of them holding a glass of wine.

When May had first found out about him being Spider-Man, she had been furious. When Peter eventually had calmed her down enough that she'd stopped screaming and started breathing normally, she called Tony. After about half an hour of yelling at him as well, she told him to come over immediately so that she could talk to him face-to-face.

That was their first Spider-Man-related meeting at the Parker residence, which lasted for a good couple of hours and had contained the making of a lot of new rules for Peter if he wanted to keep being the swinging vigilante. Peter protested, but Tony agreed with May that a couple of rules would be good for him. Peter wasn't sure if he really meant it, or just wanted to get on May's good side.

After that, they'd had a few more meetings regarding Peter, although never as long or heated as that first one. It was mostly for Tony to fill May in on what was happening in Peter's double life, or if May had any questions. Peter thought it was unnecessary for him to be there, since they were just talking about him and not _to_ him. But May always insisted that they all had to be there.

So you could say that he was pretty confused when he found them sitting alone in the apartment, not having informed Peter of any meeting. The wine bottle stood half-full on the coffee table and they were sitting opposite each other with different looks of shock and embarrassment on their faces, as well as different shades of red.

Peter raised one eyebrow, looking between the two of them. "Am I the only getting a déjà vu right now?"

May breathed a small laugh, and Tony slowly put down his wine glass on the coffee table with a wide grin. No one spoke a word.

"Am I in trouble?" Peter said uncertainty after a beat of silence. A part of him kind of hoped that was the reason they were there.

"Oh, no", May reassured him with a forced smile and put her wine glass down as well. Tony was rolling his thumbs and looking anywhere but at Peter. It went silent again.

"Are-.. Did I miss another meeting?", he continued, not really knowing if he was getting more confused or just refusing to accept the scene in front of him.

"No, kid, you didn't", Tony spoke, finally meeting Peter's gaze. "Your aunt and I were just having a friendly little chat." He smiled, though it seemed forced and didn't really reach his eyes.

"About wha-" Peter continued, but was cut off by May.

"What are you doing home so early? I thought you were spending the night at Ned's." She uncrossed her legs and scooted slightly backwards toward the arm of the couch, farther away from Tony.

"Um.. he thought he was getting a fever and told me to go home so that I wouldn't get sick too, even though I told him I probably can't get sick anymore because of, you know, the spider-thing, but he wouldn't have it, so-.. yeah, here I am." He gestured awkwardly at himself.

"Well, that's too bad. Hopefully he'll get well again by tomorrow." May smiled softly and looked down at her lap, starting to fiddle with a thread on her skirt, which Peter noticed was way nicer than what she usually wore.

"Yep", Peter answered, putting his hands in his pockets. He looked back at Tony, who was avoiding his gaze again.

What was going on here?

"Should I go?" he said hesitantly, taking a step back toward the door. He wasn't really sure if he wanted to know what was going on. Considering May and Tony's awkward and evasive behavior, he guessed it wasn't something he was going to like.

"No, no, Peter, it's fine", May sighed, finally letting her fake smile fade. She turned her eyes to Tony for the first time since Peter had walked in and gave him a meaningful look.

"Yes, right", Tony said, clearing his throat as he stood up. He offered Peter a smile and a pat on his shoulder as he walked by. "See you later, kid".

He opened the door, turning toward the two Parkers and giving May a sympathetic look before walking out, the echo of the door closing lingering in the air.

Peter's eyes snapped to May, who was looking down at her skirt again. "What the hell was that?"

"Language", she said, sighing as she looked up at him. She patted the seat next to her on the couch, where Tony had just been sitting.

Peter hesitated for a moment before slowly walking over to the couch, plopping down. He looked expectantly at his aunt, waiting for her to start talking.

She took in a deep breath, holding it for a few seconds before exhaling. Her eyes locked with Peters' and she looked at him with an intensity only May could achieve - well, except for perhaps MJ -, staring into his soul as if she was trying to read his mind. Which she usually could, but Peter wasn't even sure himself what he was thinking. "I didn't want you to find out like this."

"Find out what?" he breathed, even though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

She bit her lip and started fiddling with the thread on her skirt again, but she kept her eyes locked with her nephew. "Tony and I... we've kind of been seeing each other for a while."

I went silent. Peter barely breathed. Even though he had on some level realised it the moment he walked in, hearing her utter those words still shocked him. His mind automatically started replaying every visit he'd paid to the compound the last couple of months, trying to figure out exactly when Tony had started acting different toward him, because-... because shouldn't he? Shouldn't he have been acting awkwardly around Peter or trying to avoid him, because-... because he'd been dating his aunt? But Tony had never started acting different, and neither had May. They must've been determined to keep this a secret from Peter, which he wasn't really sure he appreciated.

May raised an eyebrow, waiting for him to say something.

"How long?" he asked, his voice still barely above a whisper.

She sighed, probably for the hundredth time that evening. "Since the middle of November."

Peter's eyebrows shot up, almost disappearing into his hairline. "Six months?!"

She nodded stiffly, a look of guilt and shame starting to form in her eyes. She scooted closer to Peter, draping an arm over his shoulders and resting her chin on top of his head. "I'm really sorry we didn't tell you sooner. I just-.. I guess I didn't really want to admit it to myself either, because, as you know, I haven't been his biggest fan in the past. It took at least three months before we made it official, and by then... I was already so caught up in the lie and I convinced myself that we had to get more serious before getting you involved. I'm sorry, honey, you deserved to know earlier."

"It's okay, I understand", Peter mumbled against her shoulder, realising it was actually true. He could see it from her perspective, and it must've been very hard, not just having to tell Peter, but having to accept it herself. He remembered all the times she had ranted about how much she disliked Tony, and perhaps she only thought she had to dislike him because of the impression she had gotten of him from the media. Which apparently must've changed...

"How serious are you?" he asked softly.

May chuckled lightly. "Pretty." She started running her fingers through his hair. "Actually, we've... okay, so this is only something we've mentioned briefly a few times. We agreed not to seriously consider until you've know about this for at least a few months, but... we've talked a bit about moving in together."

Peter froze, as well as May's hand on his head. "Really?" he said in a low voice, wondering if she'd even heard him.

"I mean, we obviously wouldn't if you're uncomfortable with it", she hurriedly explained. It went quiet for a minute before she grabbed his shoulders and softly pushed him upright, looking him seriously in the eyes. "Are you uncomfortable with all this?"

Peter bit his lip, thinking. Was it strange? Yes. Was he weirded out? A bit. But uncomfortable? He didn't really know. He mostly just felt shocked. Perhaps he could get used to the idea of them dating. It was Tony, after all. He knew Tony. Rather it be someone he knew and liked, than some stranger.

"I don't think so", he said slowly. "I mean, I feel comfortable around him. And he makes you happy, doesn't he?" He looked into his aunt's eyes.

She smiled. "Yes, he does."

He mimicked her smile. "And that's all that matters, I guess."

She wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug, burrowing her face in his hair. "Of course that's not all that matters, it matters how you feel as well. But thank you."  
Peter snuck his arms around her back, pulling her in closer. "If you're happy, I'm happy. And it is pretty cool that my aunt is dating Iron Man."

She laughed into his hair. "I know." He could hear the grin in her voice.

They stayed like that for a few minutes, until May told him it was time for bed. Peter didn't protest, which he usually did. She placed a kiss on his forehead, whispered a quick "I love you", and then went to her bedroom without another word. Peter could see the happines and relief radiating off of her, which was similar to the way he'd felt after she found out about him being Spider-Man. A few days after, that is.

He went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash his face, then put on his pyjamas and got into bed. He knew he probably wouldn't be able to sleep for a while.

 

-

 

" _Alright, I love you. Goodnight_."

Peter heard his aunt put her phone down on her nightstand and shuffle in her bed for a moment before going still. Apparently she had forgotten about his enhanced senses, or he just had forgotten to tell her about them. It was most likely the latter.

He'd understood that she was talking to Tony. They'd been on the phone for a few minutes, and she told him how happy she was that Peter was so accepting of it, but that they probably should take it easy for a little while to not overwhelm him.

Hearing her say she loved him pretty much erased the last doubt Peter had. It wasn't just because of the fact that she had found someone she had such strong feelings for and made her so happy, but the way she said it sounded so much like how she used to say it to Uncle Ben.

And the more he thought about it, the more the idea of Tony becoming an actual part of his family grew on him. He grew up with him as his hero, and this last year he had become a big part of his life as a mentor.

Peter pulled the covers tighter around himself and rolled onto his side into a more comfortable position.

He fell asleep with a smile on his face that night.


	2. Please don't call him

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wasn't going to post until next Sunday, or some time during the week, but I just couldn't wait. Enjoy!

"Dude", Ned exclaimed, his eyes widening and jaw dropping. "Your aunt is dating Tony Stark?!"

They were sitting at their usual table in the school cafeteria, across from each other. It was Monday, which meant that MJ wouldn't appear until 20 minutes after Peter and Ned. Since MJ still didn't know about the whole Spider-Man thing, it was usually during that time Peter would fill Ned in on what had happened during the weekend. Though this was a topic he never thought he'd approach.

Peter hushed him, looking around quickly to make sure no one was close enough to hear. "Can you please keep it down? I kind of don't want the whole school to know."

"Why not?" Ned asked confused, taking a bite of his pizza. "It's freaking awesome!"

Peter sighed, leaning his cheek into his palm. "For the same reason I want to keep Spider-Man a secret. I don't want all of that attention."

"Isn't the reason actually that if your true identity was revealed you would probably, like, get killed?" Ned said casually, taking another bite.

Peter looked up at his friend, chuckling softly. "Yeah, that too."

"Alright." Ned swallowed. "Back to the subject in matter. So how long has this been going on for?"

Peter looked down at his food, picking at it with a fork. "Six months", he breathed.

When Ned didn't answer for a few seconds, he looked up and saw that he was wearing the same expression Peter probably had worn when May told him. "And you never noticed?"

He shook his head. "Nope. They hid it very well, and they had agreed not to tell me until they knew for sure that they were serious."

Ned nodded understandingly. "Yeah, I get that."

They both started eating and it went silent. Though it wasn't uncomfortable, which was one of the reasons Ned was his best friend. He was one of those people who you could sit in silence with, without it getting awkward. It was sometimes nice to just simply enjoy the other person's company, processing what had been said. And Ned knew exactly when it was time for those kind of moments.

"Peter", Ned said suddenly, his voice serious. Peter looked up, seeing a caring and a bit concerned expression on his friend's face. "How do you feel about this?"

"Feel about what?" someone interrupted. The two boys' heads snapped up at the same time, watching MJ walk right past Ned and slide into the seat next to Peter, throwing her backpack onto the table. She was holding a book in her hand, which she hadn't taken her eyes off even as she was talking.

"Oh, just the- Um.. Geometry test! Yeah, I was just asking Peter how he felt about the geometry test."

MJ looked up at him, narrowing her eyes. "Peter doesn't take geometry this year."

Ned cleared his throat awkwardly. "Oh yeah, right! How silly of me." He laughed lightly, though it sounded nervous. Peter glared at him, putting his face in his hands.

"Fine", MJ sighed, going back to her book. "If you don't want to tell me, then don't. I don't care". She shrugged nonchalantly.

"No, it's not that we-.. I just-", Peter stammered as he tried to come up with an explanation, not wanting MJ to feel left out. He couldn't help feeling a bit bad about keeping these secrets from her, even though it was for her own good. Not that the relationship between his aunt and Tony Stark necessarily had something to do with him being Spider-Man, but she was too smart, and would probably start wondering how and why they even met in the first place. He figured that his so-called "internship" wouldn't be very good of an excuse, especially since she was already very sceptical about it.

She looked at him over the edge of her book with a quirked eyebrow. "Parker, seriously, it's fine. I don't care." She picked up an apple from her tray and took a bite as she relaxed into her seat, leaning the chair back on the two back legs.

"Oh, okay. Good." Peter started picking at his food again and, to his surprise, a blush spread across his face from the embarrassment of annoying her. He glanced up at Ned, seeing him eyeing at him with a lifted eyebrow and a teasing smirk. He quickly let his gaze fall to his tray.

"So, Parker", MJ spoke, sitting up straighter in her seat, though not taking her eyes off her book. "Have you finished reading it yet?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah, yeah I have." He bent down between his legs and started scrambling in his backpack. He had started putting it underneath the table instead of next to it, since one time he accidentally left it open with the suit in it. Luckily no one noticed, but he still learned his lesson.

He found the book and placed it on the table next to her tray. "I really liked it", he said with a smile. "Except it was a bit too long for my taste. I kind of get impatient after the first hundred pages of a book, you know?"

"Well, Parker, then you're really not going to like this one." She reached inside her backpack, pulled out a book, and dropped it with a loud _thud_ next to the one Peter had put down. It was at least twice as thick.

Peter's eyes widened as he picked it up, even him feeling the heaviness of it. "How many pages?"

She shrugged. "About 700. It's about patriarchy. Very interesting, you really should read it."

Peter stifled a groan, deciding to be grateful about his friend picking out books for him. Besides, he actually though it was interesting to read the books MJ liked, and hopefully he would get to know and understand her a little better by doing it. He'd been determined to try and break through the wall she was always putting up around herself, and he figured that this was a good start.

"Wait, what's going on?" Ned asked, narrowing his eyes and looking between the two of them. "Since when do you read her weird books, Peter?"

"They're not weird", Peter snapped immediately, and flinched at his own sudden defensiveness. He cleared his throat and looked down, feeling his face redden again.

"Dork number one over here was complaining about how he didn't have any good books to read, so I offered to lend him some of mine, which are very educational and interesting, thank you very much. Figured he could learn a thing or two." She leaned back again and took a sip of her orange juice.

Ned just kept staring at him with that annoying look as if he knew something, but Peter just kept eating his pasta, avoiding his burning gaze.

"Well, this hasn't been too unpleasant, but I'm gonna go study in the library", MJ announced, swiftly draping her backpack over one shoulder after putting her book in, standing up with her tray in one hand. "See ya tomorrow, losers".

"Wait!" Peter exclaimed, making MJ stop in her tracks toward the doors. She faced him with a quirked eyebrow.

He didn't actually know what he was going to say, the word had just slipped out before he could stop himself. He cleared his throat. "So, um... how come I am dork number one?"

Her lips twitched in something that almost looked like a smile - which shocked Peter, because wow, she could actually smile? - and just said "'Cause you're the dorkiest of the two of you. And no, do not feel free to quote me on that. I'm not sure that's a real word, and I don't need people thinking that I have bad grammar."

She turned on her heel and walked away.

After watching her disappearing form for a while, Peter looked up to see Ned still staring at him with that look.

"Dude", he said, smiling as he took sip of his milk.

"What?" Peter huffed, putting the heavy book in his backpack.

"Don't _what_ me, I'm not stupid." He put his drink down and waited for Peter to look at him. "You are _so_ head over heels for her."

"I am not!" Peter snapped, his voice pitching up embarrassingly high.

Ned snorted. "Sure, whatever you say, _dork number one_."

He just rolled his eyes and put a soda bottle to his lips, trying to hide the redness that was once again threatening to spread across his face.

"So anyways", Ned said after a beat of silence, his teasing grin finally fading. "What's going to happen with you and Mr. Stark now? I mean, are you still going to visit him at the compound?"

Peter frowned. He hadn't really thought about that. "I don't know. Probably, though. It can't be too awkward right?"

Ned smiled and nodded. "Yeah, and even if you wanted to you couldn't avoid him forever. Not with both Spider-Man and Aunt May."

Peter nodded, taking another sip of his soda. The first time meeting Mr. Stark after yesterday evening would probably be pretty awkward, but after that he was convinced it would get better. Right?

The bell rang. The two boys hastily picked up their belongings and made their way toward the cafeteria doors, staying a bit behind the swarm of students.

"I have an idea", Ned suddenly spoke, grinning at Peter. "How about you invite her to our sleepover on Friday?"

"Who?" he asked, ears reddening.

Ned rolled his eyes. "MJ."

Peter huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, as if she'd want to spend her Friday night with us, and more so staying the night at my apartment."

Ned shrugged. "Well, I just figured, you know, since the two of you have become so tight lately.."

Peter nudged him with his elbow, but laughed. "If you don't stop that I'll uninvite you. I'm sure I can have a fun night all by myself, building legos and watching Star Wars."

They discarded their trays, and walked into the hallway toward their lockers.

"Seriously though, you should", Ned prompted. "You've been talking forever about how you want MJ to feel more included in our group, and this is the perfect opportunity!"

Peter sighed, putting his combination into his locker. "Well, there's no way she's going to say yes. If you haven't noticed yet, she kind of hates us."

Ned made a sound somewhere between a snort and a sigh. "Just ask her, okay?"

Peter leaned his head against his locker, groaning in defeat. "Alright, I'll ask her."

Ned squeezed his shoulder joyfully. "I'm so proud of you for finally working up the courage to ask her."

"Alright." Peter shoved him away with a laugh. "You'd better stop that before I change my mind. See ya tomorrow."

Ned shot him a smile before turning around and walking to class. Peter closed his locker and started walking in the opposite direction. He caught his reflection in the window of a dark classroom, and saw that his face was red from the bottom of his neck to his hairline.

 

-

 

Peter took a deep breath, letting the cold air filter through the material of his mask. He was crouching on the roof of a building, a firm hand gripping the edge as he overlooked the city of Queens.

It had been an uneventful evening so far - two pickpockets and an attempted bank robbery, though he'd stopped them before they even broke through the doors -, which gave him a lot of time to think while he was swinging through the city. It was mostly about May and Mr. Stark, and he was still trying to figure out exactly how he felt about it. He kept catching himself making up scenarios of them as a family; celebrating holidays, spending Friday nights together at the apartment...

Though he didn't let himself take it as a sign that he was okay with their relationship. He couldn't know if Mr. Stark was even interested in the three of them becoming a family, or if Peter would like the way the two of them were together. He knew that he couldn't decide on his feelings about this before he'd actually spent time with them, and had seen how they worked together. No matter how much he liked Mr. Stark, his aunt's well-being was still one of the things he cared most about, and he knew that the man had had problems in the past.

" _Incoming call from May Parker_ ", Karen suddenly spoke - speak of the devil - and he answered it, realising in the same moment that he hadn't checked the time since... Well, probably about two hours ago.

"Peter", she said before he had time to greet her. Uh oh. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"

"Um... not exactly?" he answered, though it sounded more like a question.

"It's 10:30." She sounded calm and composed, but he could hear something else underneath her voice. "Didn't we all decide that you have to be home by 10 on school nights when you're out... patrolling?" Hesitation leaked through as she said the last word.

"Oh shi- I mean, shoot", Peter said, crawling down the wall of the building to run through the alleys. He'd learned that she didn't like it very much when he swinged between buildings, and so he tried to avoid doing it while talking on the phone with her. "I'm sorry, May, I'll be home as fast as I can."

He was about to tell Karen to end the call, which they usually did at that point, when he suddenly heard May take a deep, unsteady breath. He slowed his pace.

"You know-", she mumbled, that thing Peter had heard underneath before finally coming through. "It's not really that I mind you being home late an hour or so, I used to a lot when I was younger. It's just that... I don't really know what you're doing when you're... you know, and I can't control it." She took another unsteady breath. "Partying and being out late with friends I can control, but this I have no power over. If something happened to you, I wouldn't know what to do except perhaps-..." She hesitated. "Except call Tony. And then it still wouldn't be me helping you, and I just can't stand that thought."

Peter had come to a stop, leaning his head against a building as the guilt slowly washed over him. "I'm sorry, May. I didn't realise that-..." He bit his lip. "But I should have. I'm sorry."

May breathed in - steadier this time - and laughed softly. "It's okay, sweetie. Just come right home now, and try to think about this next time, okay?"

He smiled underneath the mask. "I will. Love you." He ended the call.

After a couple of deep breaths he ran out of the alley, took a big leap upward, shot a web on the building to his right and started swinging. He'd known before that May was worried about his going out as Spider-Man, but this was the first time she'd told him. It made Peter feel guilty, since he never really cared that much about his curfew. He promised himself that he would get much better at getting home on time, hopefully easing some of May's tension.

He got so caught up in his thoughts that when he snapped out of it he was a bit uncertain about whether he was going in the right direction or not. He swung himself to the side of a building and crawled up on the roof. After overlooking the city for a minute he realised that he had indeed been going in the wrong direction. In the past he'd asked Karen to automatically show him the way whenever he was going somewhere, but it had sometimes been too much of a distraction, and so lately he only asked for her help when it was absolutely necessary.

He turned the right way and started sprinting in that direction toward the edge of the roof, and right as he took a leap and was about to shoot a web, he caught sight of something familiar in his peripheral vision. He turned his head slightly to the left and saw that, in the distance, MJ was walking along a quiet sidewalk, her bookback swinging slightly from her shoulder. Her hair wasn't in a ponytail, and it was the first time Peter had seen it let down. Her curls moved softly in the breeze, wrapping itself around her face. A face which Peter saw, for the first time as well, had a smile on it. A soft, beautiful smile, that brought out a pair of pretty dimples on her cheeks...

After approximately three seconds Peter wondered why he was still going down, when he should've been swinging forward at that point. He forced his eyes away from MJ to look up at the building next to him, and realised with horror that the web had gone about half of an inch above the edge of the building instead of hitting it, and he was currently plummeting toward the ground in an alley.

He twisted himself and desperately shot another web, but before it could touch the building he felt his left side hit the cold pavement, hard. He skidded along the ground, before coming to an abrupt stop when his head hit a dumpster.

He lay still for a couple of seconds, the wind completely knocked out of him, before taking a loud, deep gasp. He rolled onto his back, trying to get his breathing under control but failing, his breaths coming out in short, high-pitched pants.

" _Calling Tony Stark_ ", Karen suddenly spoke after a few seconds, making Peter flinch. He groaned when it shot a pang of pain through his left shoulder and head, not having realised before how badly it ached there.

"N-No, Karen", he choked out, still panting. "'m fine."

" _Per one of my protocols I am obligated to call him whenever you've gotten hurt_ ".

"But I'm fine", he argued, his breathing finally calming down a bit. "This- This has happened before. I'm okay."

Karen didn't respond, and he wasn't sure whether that meant he was winning the argument or not. Maybe she was sending him a text instead.

"I'll be okay", he hurriedly said in between pants. "Just.. just let me catch my breath. I'll be able to walk home in a minute or so." He paused to take a deep, shuddering breath. "Just don't call him yet, please." He really didn't want this to be the first time they met after that awkward meeting in his apartment yesterday.

It was silent for a while, Peter still laying on his back and panting slightly. " _Very well_ ", Karen finally said, but sounded hesitant.

It didn't take too long before Peter finally got control over his breathing, but when he tried to sit up pain flared up in his head again and he fell back down, gasping.

" _Are you sure you don't want me to contact Mr. Stark? I'm detecting some slight damage in your head and a dislocated shoulder_."

Peter moaned. Shit, there was no way he would be able to get home by himself in this state. And even if he were, May would most likely notice that he was hurt and call Mr. Stark anyway. "No thanks, Karen. It's okay."

He tried to sit up again, ignoring the throbbing in his head, but when he propped himself up on his elbows his shoulder ached so bad that he reflexively flinched away from the pain and fell back on the ground. He choked out a small sob, and then took a deep breath to compose himself. He lifted his head slightly to look at his shoulder, and even he could see that it looked misplaced. Yikes.

"Call Mr. Stark", he murmured, dropping his head on the pavement in defeat.

" _With pleasure_ ", the AI answered. He could practically hear the grin in her voice, and he rolled his eyes but winced when it made his head throb.

"Stark's Services, how can I help you today?" the man answered jokingly on the second signal. His voice was light, but Peter could hear the same uncertainty underneath that he felt as well.

Peter cleared his throat. "Um.. H-Hi, Mr. Stark", he said awkwardly. He instantly regretted his decision. Was there really no one else he could call? He was sure Happy must've had some experience with dislocated shoulders.

The line went silent for a while, Peter trying to figure out where to start. He'd never really been in this situation before, he was usually able to walk off any damage he got.

"So what's crackalackin?" Tony said after a beat. "You.. um, you wanna talk?"

Peter froze, suddenly stricken with the realisation that Tony thought he'd called about the evening before.

"No", he choked out quickly. "I-.. um, I think I need some help. I'm kind of... hurt."

"Hurt how?" the man responded worriedly, though he could hear a hint of relief as well.

"I fell from a building and, um... Karen says I hit my head pretty bad and dislocated my shoulder."

He could hear the sound of metal clanking together as Tony got into his suit. "And how exactly did you manage to fall?"

"I was, um... distracted", Peter said, feeling his face reddening underneath the mask. God, he was getting really sick of that.

"Mhm", the man said, but didn't push the point further. "I'll be there in a minute, don't go anywhere", he joked, but then sounded serious again when he added "And don't forget to breathe, it'll help with the pain."

 

-

 

Tony engaged his thruster and took off to Queens. The phone call had ended after another beat of uncomfortable silence. He wondered how long this would last for.

For the last 24 hours Tony's mind had been and endless loop of Peter's face as he walked in on him and his aunt yesterday. Thank God he'd come home when they were just talking, and not doing something else...

Tony forced himself to snap out of it and focus on the present. Peter was hurt, and he knew it was serious when the kid actually called for help. Too many times to count Tony had received an angry phone call from May, scolding him about a bruise or wound she found on Peter. Sometimes he felt like they were this old, married couple, only fighting about their kid.

Wait, _their_ kid? Jesus.

Before Tony had time to speculate - worry, rather - about the thought that had accidentally slipped through his mind, F.R.I.D.A.Y. told him that he had reached his destination. He landed in the middle of a dark alley, immidietely looking for the kid. After a beat he found him lying on his back in front of a dumpster, hands clasped on top of his stomach. His chest was rising and falling with slow, deep breaths.

"Taking a nap?" Tony asked, still keeping his distance. Peter flinched slightly and jerked his head toward the man. Tony frowned. Had he actually been sleeping?

"Oh, Mr. Stark", he said, but it came out more like a wheeze. "I'm sorry you had to come here, I just-..." He took a deep breathe, which also sounded like a wheeze. "Karen said she was gonna call you anyway."

"It's fine", Tony reassured. "I installed the protocol for a reason."

Peter nodded, but the motion seemed odd. As if it matched up with the rest of his body.

He lifted his faceplate and closed the distance between them with a few steps, dropping down on one knee. "Jesus, Peter", he said, pressing a firm hand against his good shoulder. "You're shaking like a leaf."

When Peter didn't respond he reached up and carefully peeled his mask off, surprisingly without any protests. His face was as pale as a sheet of paper, and he looked completely drained, his eyes glossy and barely focusing on Tonys'.

"God, kid", he breathed, feeling the panic slowly rising. "Are you okay?" He knew the question was stupid, since he could clearly see that the kid was most definitely not okay.

Peter took a deep breath and Tony could see him fighting to keep his facade up. "Yeah, yeah, 'm fine." But despite his words, thick tears of pain started trailing down his cheeks. 

Tony tightened his grip on Peter's shoulder. "It's okay kiddo, I'm going to help you."

Beneath the worry and slight panic, Tony was confused. Could a hit in the head and dislocated shoulder really cause this much pain? Especially on someone with superpowers. The kid had once walked home with broken ribs, for crying out loud.

Tony drew his eyes from Peter's face and trailed them down his body. They stopped at something glistening on the underside of his left thigh. He scooted closer and carefully placed a hand underneath his knee, lifting his leg. He heard Peter take a sharp breath between clenched teeth and whimper slightly.

The glistening thing was a large piece of glass, and with the leg in the air Tony could see a pool of blood on the ground.

Trying to prevent the panic that was dangerously close now, Tony focused on the fact that the kid hadn't tried to rip the piece out himself, which would've made the situation much worse.

"Alright kid", he said, slowly putting the leg down and twisting it out slightly so that the piece wouldn't touch the ground. "I'm taking you with me to the tower, so that Bruce can take a look a this."

He looked up at the kid who nodded, his fists now clenched on either side of his body.

"But first I'm going to have to take care of that shoulder."

Peter's eyes widened and he stared at Tony. "Here?" he choked out. Tony nodded. "C-Can't we do that at the tower? With like, painkillers and stuff?"

Tony shook his head with a sigh. "Sorry, kid, but if you think this hurts, it's nothing compared to if I carried and flew you back with a dislocated shoulder."

Peter stared at him for a few seconds before nodding in defeat. "Okay, just ... do it quick, please."

Tony stood and walked over to his other side, dropping down on his knees. Peter looked at him with horror as he placed one hand on his shoulder and the other one on his forearm. "Do you-... um, do you have to do that with the suit on?"

"I do, unfortunately. I'm not that strong without it, you know."

He waited until Peter nodded before tightening his grip. "I'm gonna go on three, okay?" Another nod. "One, two..."

He moved his hands quickly and Peter let out a loud cry. Tony felt his heart clench at the sound, but it soon turned into panting instead. He kept his hands in place for a minute, waiting for Peter to steady his breathing.

"What happened with three?" he asked after a while, his voice stronger. Tony was relieved to see the color coming back on his cheeks. At least now some of the pain was gone.

"People usually tense up on three", he answered, fighting the urge to brush away the hair that had fallen over the kid's eyes, "and that makes it much worse."

"Oh okay, I forgive you", he joked, a small smile forming on his lips.

Tony copied it. "Alright, let's get you to the tower." He was about to lift him up when a thought crossed his mind. Shit. "But before, uh, I should probably..." he hesitated, feeling something holding him back from saying it.

"Call May?" He breathed a laugh, and Tony heard some kind of defeat mixed with acceptance in it. "Yeah, you should."

Tony nodded and closed his faceplate. "F.R.I.D.A.Y., call May. Parker", he added when he saw the kid looking at him. He rolled his eyes.

"Hey", May answered, in a voice that made Tony thankful he'd closed the faceplate so that Peter couldn't hear. "I miss you. A lot."

Tony cleared his throat and looked away from Peter. "Um, yeah. Listen, I'm here with your nephew. He's hurt, and I'm taking him back to the tower with me to get him fixed up."

May's tone changed immediately. "Hurt how? What happened?"

"Just a slight hit in the head and a small wound on his leg. Don't worry, it's nothing."

"You sure?" she said in a distressed voice. "I mean, he's usually able to walk home with most injuries. If he had to call you ... God, are you really sure he's-"

"May, he's fine, really." He realised that he was trying to convince himself just as much as her. "He'll be back before bedtime, as good as new."

She took a deep breath. "He better be." Tony smiled at her attempt at intimidating him. She hadn't been able to in the last couple of months. "Are you going to talk to him?" she asked in a softer voice after a beat of silence.

He sighed, looking back at Peter. "I don't know. Probably."

"Okay, good. I just think that the both of us should talk to him about it."

"Yeah, I agree." He kept his answers short in front of Peter.

"Alright, I love you."

"Bye." He wanted to say it back, but Peter probably wouldn't appreciate that very much.

"Thank you for taking care of him", she added quickly before he hung up. "I'm glad he has you."

He smiled. "Always."

He hung up and opened the faceplate. Peter looked at him meaningly, and he guessed that he'd understood most of it, even without hearing May.

He looked like he had a million things to say, but when he opened his mouth the thing that came out was "Why do you keep calling the compound 'the tower'?"

"I'm not calling the compound anything", he answered simply, carefully gathering Peter in his arms and standing up. "We're actually going to the tower."

Peter's eyes widened. "You bought it back?"

"Yep. But I'm keeping the compound for a while until we've moved everything, and most of us are still staying there. You're lucky Bruce just happened to be here today."

He engaged his thrusters and took of. Peter was holding his mask in his hands, not bothering to put it back on since they were just going to fly. "Why did you move back here?" he asked after a few minutes of silence.

Tony looked down at him. _Because of you and your aunt_. But no, he couldn't say that. It involved too many emotions for him to express. Not even May knew that that was the reason.

So he settled with "For convenience". That was partially true, and that’s what the rest of the Avengers thought.

Peter nodded, looking down at the mask in his hands. He was uncharacteristically quiet.

Tony thought about what May had said about talking to him. He knew that he had to at some point, but he'd planned to postpone it for at least a few days. Both to let Peter process it a bit, and to let himself prepare. Right now he had no idea what he was going to say.

He looked back down at Peter. He knew that his relationship with May would affect, and involve, him too. And it scared him how much he liked that thought. He just hoped Peter would feel the same about all this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to leave suggestions for future chapters or feedback. See you next time, which will probably be on Sunday!


	3. The Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I couldn't wait to post this time either. It's not that long, but hopefully you'll still enjoy it!

The flight to the tower only took a couple of minutes, but it felt like hours. The tension between Peter and Tony was so thick you could probably cut through it with a butter knife. No one said a word, except for Tony sporadically asking him if he was okay. At first Peter had hesitated to answer, until Tony quickly added that he was talking about the pain. 

During the whole flight Peter continually snuck glances at Tony’s face, but couldn’t read anything in it since it was covered with his faceplate, and he couldn’t decide if that was a good thing or not. Tony was probably looking at him too, and them constantly making eye contact would probably add to the awkwardness. 

They finally reached the tower, and Tony carefully put him down on the balcony. Apparently he’d somewhat forgotten about Peter’s state in his desperation to get some space between them to hopefully ease some of the tension, and the sudden pain that flared up through Peter’s left leg made him stumble and fall. Luckily Tony caught him just before he hit the ground, hooking his gloved hands underneath his armpits. “Kid, are you okay?” The slight panic in his voice was impossible to miss. 

Peter took a deep breath and grimaced when it shot a pang of pain through his head. He was glad Tony couldn’t see his face, since it would only add to his worry. “Yea-yeah, I’m okay.”

Tony slowly straightened him and gathered him in his arms again. “Better not put any weight on that leg until we get that piece of glass out.”

Peter blinked. “Right. Glass piece.”

Tony walked inside, through the common room toward the elevator and told F.R.I.D.A.Y. to take them to the med. 

“And tell Bruce to prepare himself for a prepubescent vigilante who’s gotten hurt, not while fighting, but simply from being clumsy and not careful enough during patrol. Once again.” Peter rolled his eyes, but couldn’t help feeling a bit ashamed about all the times Bruce had stitched Peter up during his free time, simply because Peter had, indeed, been clumsy. 

“ _ I’ve already informed him about Peter’s current state, and he’s waiting for your arrival in the medical room. _ ”

“That’s my girl, Fri.”

The ride to the med went by quickly, and thankfully no awkward tension had time to build up before the doors opened with a  _ ping _ , revealing the waiting doctor. 

His gaze immediately fell to Peter’s leg, eyes widening slightly at the sight of the large glass piece before composing himself and taking a step back to allow Tony to put him down on a cot. 

Tony stepped out of the suit and stayed back to give Peter and Bruce some space. The doctor carefully lay him down on the cot. 

“So how you doing, Pete?” he asked while placing a hand on top of Peter’s head. He tried to suppress a flinch when the doctor brushed against the spot where he’d hit the dumpster. 

“About as good as you can with a piece of glass stuck in your leg”, he answered with a small laugh. He caught Tony’s eyes in his peripheral vision, looking at him with disbelief. 

“You really got this in good, huh?” He put his hand on Peter’s knee and carefully pushed it upward, his foot flat on the cot, to get a better view at the piece. Peter drew in a sharp gasp between clenched teeth when the motion pulled at the skin the piece had dug into. 

Bruce quickly let go of his knee and eyed him worriedly for a moment. “I think I’m going to need some more equipment. And painkillers. I’ll be back in a minute, okay?”

Peter nodded shakily and Bruce put his hand in his hair; half affectionately, half apologetic. “Don’t worry, we’ll make that pain go away.”

Bruce walked across the room and went through the door opposite the bed, leaving him and Tony alone.

The tension quickly built up again, so strong this time that not even the small puddle of blood collecting underneath Peter’s leg could break it. 

“So”, Tony said after a moment, swaying slightly on his feet. “A distraction, you say. Something or someone?”

Peter felt that goddamn heat starting to spread across his cheeks again. “Someone.”

“Mhm”, Tony said, casually taking a step closer toward Peter. “Someone I know?”

“No”, Peter answered. Another small step. “It’s just a-... dude in my school. I saw him walking down a sidewalk while I was taking a leap between two buildings and got distracted, ‘cause, I recognised him, you know?” 

His attempt at distracted Tony by babbling obviously hadn’t worked. “A  _ dude _ ?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow and small grin, sitting down on the chair next to the cot. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you use that term before.”

Peter looked down at his hands, clasped together on top of his stomach. “I actually use it all the time, for your information. Maybe I’ve just never said it around you.”

When Tony didn’t answer for a moment he looked back up at him, and saw that his grin had grown. He sighed. “Alright, maybe it was… it’s a girl from my school.”

“Hmm”, was all Tony answered, grin not fading. 

Peter rolled his eyes. “Well, just because she’s a girl and I got distracted by her it doesn’t mean I like her or anything!”

Tony huffed out a laugh. “Well, I didn’t think that until you said  _ that _ . So you have a crush, huh?”

“No, I don’t”, Peter said with a frown, hating how he sounded like a child.

“You’re a bit too young to be in love, though. Maybe I should tell May about this.”

On any other day, that comment would’ve made Peter roll his eyes and glare at Tony. But this time the room fell silent, the words releasing a dose of awkwardness.

Tony sighed and leaned forward closer to Peter, resting his elbows on his knees. “Look, Peter, about May…”

The door to the medical supply room swung open, making both of them jump. Tony hastily straightened himself and stood up, taking a few steps back to give Bruce some room to work on Peter. They looked at each other for a moment, both of them knowing what was to come after Bruce was done, and that there was no going back now.

 

-

 

The jar containing the piece of glass scrambled as Bruce pulled it away from Peter’s face, who obviously had wanted to see the size of it before they threw it away. After exclaiming a cheerful  _ cool! _ \-  because it  _ had  _ been an impressive size -, he saw Tony furrowing his eyebrows and looking away. 

The damage hadn’t been too bad. He hadn’t lost a big amount off blood, and the wound was easily stitched up and bandaged. Whatever concussion Karen had detected was apparently small enough to heal before Bruce did some tests on him, and he was free to go home on the condition that he wouldn’t go out on patrol for at least two days. 

“And try to get as much sleep as possible tonight, okay? Let your head heal”, the doctor said as he was packing up his equipment. Peter was sitting on the edge of the cot, putting on his shoes with less eagerness than usual since he knew that he wouldn’t get to leave just yet. 

“And remember to call me immediately if you feel the least bit dizzy or anything, okay?” He put his hand on Peter’s shoulder and looked at him seriously. Peter nodded, looking back at Tony who was sitting on a chair against the wall, rolling his thumbs. The position was a bit too familiar to the one he’d been sitting in when Peter had walked in on them the evening before. 

“Alright, then.” Bruce straightened and cleared his throat. “You’re free to go home, unless you and Tony wanted to…” He looked back at Tony, who gave him a short but firm nod.

Peter frowned. Bruce knew? How many more of the Avengers knew? 

He turned back to Peter with a soft smile and ruffled his hair. “Take care now, Pete. I’ll see you soon.”

“Bye”, he mumbled. The doctor picked up his bag and went to the elevator.

Once again, the room fell silent when Bruce left. The thick tension reappeared, even more intense than before. Peter took a deep breath.  _ Bite the bullet, Parker _ .

“So is this how it’s going to be every time we hang out from now on?” He looked up at Tony, who lifted his head and met his gaze. 

The questioned lingered in the air for a moment while Tony kept looking - studying, rather - at him. Finally he sighed, standing up and walking over to sit down on the chair next to the cot again.

He opened his mouth to start talking, but when he looked back up at Peter he closed it again and put his face in his hands with a sigh. “God, I’m so bad at this.”

Peter waited, giving the man time to compose himself. He knew that this wasn’t an easy kind of subject for Tony.

“Let me just start off by apologising, okay? I know May told you this yesterday, but I just want you to know that I’m … I’m really sorry that we kept it a secret from you for so long. I think you understand why, but we still should’ve told you earlier.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, it’s okay, I understand. And don’t worry about it, I think I would’ve reacted the same way even if you told me after like a week.” He smiled reassuringly at Tony.

He smiled back weakly, but it quickly disappeared. He looked down and ran a hand through his hair. “I know that- … She didn't say anything about this, but I’m just guessing that- …”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I know how much your aunt means to you, and how much you care and worry about her. And believe me, I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure she stays as happy and safe as possible, but …”

He paused and looked back up at Peter. 

“I know that you know about my past. And I don’t have to ask to understand that it worries you, and that you wonder if it will affect May. Now, no matter how much I want to, I can’t promise that I won’t let anything hurt her, including myself. But what I can do is promise that I will do anything in my power to avoid it, and I really hope that’s enough for you.”

Peter felt like a huge weight was lifted from his shoulders. This was one of the things he had worried most about, and hearing Tony talk about it and saying those things made him feel much better. He knew now that his aunt would be safe with Tony.

He smiled. “Of course. That’s all I can ask from you.”

Tony smiled back, more heartfelt this time. He then cleared his throat. “So, um, on a less serious note, I guess … how do you feel about all this?”

Peter shrugged. “It’s kind of hard to tell yet, you know? I think I have to see the two of you together before I know how I feel. But from what I’ve heard you say about each other and what I can imagine, I think I’ll, you know, like it. Or be okay with it, however you say. Like I said to May yesterday, the most important thing to me is her happiness. And I care about yours too, since you’re like, my mentor and hero and stuff.” 

He rushed out the last part and already regretted it a little bit, looking away in shame. But when Tony wasn’t clearing his throat or making a joke like he always did in too emotional situations, he looked back up at him. He was surprised when he saw the man just smiling with the most fondness he’d ever seen him express. 

For the first time, Peter was the first one to break under the emotional tension and changed the subject. “So, um, this might be a bit inappropriate, but weren’t you and Pepper engaged? Like didn’t you propose to her the day I turned down the spot here? I know the media hasn’t talked about it and she’s barely around at the compound, but I just figured that you, you know, wanted to keep it a secret.”

Tony chuckled lightly at Peter’s rambling and leaned back in his chair. “I never proposed, actually. Right after we went through the doors into that press conference she stopped and told me she wasn’t ready yet. We broke up a few weeks after that, due to various reasons.”

“I’m sorry.” Peter wasn’t really sure he meant it, but just felt like that’s what he’s supposed to say. 

Tony huffed. “Don’t be, we ended it on good terms. And if we had still been together, I wouldn’t have …” He paused, looking at Peter.

He smiled. “Gotten together with May? Well then I’m glad, I think. I know you make her very happy.”

Tony smiled back, and they sat like that for a minute. Eventually he stood up and crossed his arms with a huff, signaling that the emotional conversation was over. “Alright, let’s get you back home. You need to do what Brucie-bear says and get as much sleep as possible.” 

Peter hopped off the cot and followed Tony to the elevator. He still had a lot of thoughts and questions he wanted to be answered, but he figured that their conversation would be enough for now.

“Oh, and Peter?”

“Hm?”

“I’m still telling May about that girl.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I have a question: would you guys prefer if I posted 2-3 shorter chapters each week, or one long? I might do a mix of both, depending on how I feel, but I still want to know what you want. See you next time!


	4. Dropped backpack

Tony followed Peter to his apartment. _In case you fall on the stairs,_ he told Peter, but he actually really wanted to see May too.

He watched Peter dig for his keys in his backpack - which had surprisingly still been in the alley Peter had left it before patrol - and unlock the door.

May sat on a chair next to the couch reading a book, and looked up when she heard them walk in. She smiled - though Tony could see the worry in her eyes -, put her book down and stood up to walk over to them.

Peter just managed to shrug off his backpack onto the floor before May put her arms around him and pulled him into a tight hug.

“Are you okay?” she mumbled with half her face in his hair, looking up at Tony. He nodded, and she relaxed visibly. They both knew Peter had a bad habit of sugarcoating everything, so she needed Tony’s affirmation even when Peter answered with a _yeah, yeah, I’m fine_.

They stayed like that for a moment - May’s arms around his shoulders and hand in his hair, Peters’ around her waist -, until she pulled back, stroke his cheek with her thumb and told him that it was time for bed. Peter smiled and told them both goodnight, before going to his room.

When Peter’s door had closed Tony reached his hand out, which May took in hers. He stroke his thumb gently across her knuckles.

“Did you talk to him?” she asked, and Tony nodded. She squeezed his hand. “What did he say?”

“Pretty much the same he said to you. He’s okay with it, but he also said that he wants to see us together before he can really know how he feels.” Tony looked up at her. “He’s very mature.”

She smiled at him. “I know.”

She let go of his hand and ran her hands up his arms, moving forward until they reached his face. He draped his arms around her waist. “Maybe you could come over for dinner tomorrow? The three of us can spend some time together, and Peter gets to see how we are with each other.”

Tony smiled and gave her a peck on her nose. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“And then, when he’s gone to bed, maybe we could …” She put her mouth against his ear and whispered something, Tony gasping in fake chock.

“My goodness, do you kiss your mother with that mouth?” He tightened his grip on her and lifted her slightly off the ground. May giggled and pressed her lips softly against his. He kissed her back, gently yet affectionately.

He put her down and moved his hands up to cup her face, the kiss intensifying. May grabbed the collar on his suit jacket and pulled it off, throwing it somewhere behind him. She roughly grabbed his t-shirt and pulled him with her, toward the couch.

She sat down on the armrest, forcing Tony to bend down with the hold she had on him, and he put his hands on either side of her hips to keep his balance. She wrapped her legs around him, pulling him closer. Tony moved his hands to her back, supporting her as he carefully leaned her down on the couch. He lay on top of her, kissing more roughly, his hands moving to her hair and-

_BANG_

They froze, staring at each other for a split second before Tony leaped off of her and sprinted to Peter’s room, May right behind him. He grabbed the doorknob and yanked it open, not bothering to knock.

Peter stood in the middle of his room, eyes wide with chock at him bursting in. On the floor lay his backpack, several thick school books spread out across the surface.

“I-I’m sorry!” he stuttered, taking a step back as May appeared in the doorframe as well. “I j-just couldn’t find my headphones and tried digging at the bottom and I dropped the whole bag. I didn’t mean to scare you, I’m so sorry.” He looked down at his feet in shame and embarrassment.

Tony sighed and leaned against the doorframe. “It’s okay, kid. We shouldn’t have bursted in like that, I’m sorry. Who knows, you could’ve been watching porn in here or something. That would’ve been _really_ awkward. For you, at least.”

May smacked his arm when Peter’s blush went about five shades darker. Tony just grinned at them.

“Alright, I think it’s time for me to go.” Tony put his hand on the small of May’s back, but hesitated and glanced at Peter. He was glad to see that he looked unbothered by the motion. Well, as unbothered as he could look with a red blush across his face.

“And Peter, honey”, May said as Tony was starting to close the door. “Tony’s joining us for dinner tomorrow, alright?”

Peter lifted an eyebrow and nodded. “Yeah, sure. Cool. Solid.”

Anyone else would get nervous by Peter’s awkward ramble, but Tony knew now that it didn’t mean that he was uncomfortable or hesitant. He talked like that pretty much all the time.

“Well, I have to get going”, Tony announced. “Bye, Spider-Ling.”

“Bye, Mr. Stark. And, uh, thank you. For everything.”

He smiled. “You too.” He closed the door, feeling May taking his hand in hers.

“We, um, we probably shouldn’t do that anymore,” Tony said as they walked to the hall. “When he’s home, I mean.”

May huffed out a small laugh. “Yeah, I know. I’m just used to you only being here when Peter isn’t, and I guess my instinct took over.”

“Uh-huh”, Tony said, grinning. “And what exactly is your instinct?”

May leaned forward and whispered in his ear again. Tony hummed.

“Well, now I have to get the soap.”

May smiled and moved her mouth along his jaw to his lips. “I love you.”

“I love you too.”

 

-

 

Peter waited for five minutes. Ten. Fifteen. He felt himself starting to lose hope.

Ned hadn’t been at neither 2nd nor 3rd period, the ones he and Peter had together before lunch. Which sucked, and not just because of the obvious reasons, but he really needed someone to talk to about yesterday. And texting him just wouldn’t be the same.

And now he was sitting alone in the cafeteria, knowing that MJ would arrive at any minute.

It was always awkward when Peter and MJ ate alone. He didn’t know what was worse; sitting in complete silence, or trying to talk to her and only getting short, cold answers. And now it would be 100x worse, because of what had happened yesterday and the way he had thought of her. If he started to blush just by thinking about her, he didn’t want to know what would happen when he actually saw her.

It wasn’t something new to Peter that MJ was beautiful. It was common knowledge. _Oh, that girl Michelle Jones? Yeah, she’s kinda weird. Really pretty, though_. It was something everyone knew.

But … Peter had never _really_ noticed it before. He hadn’t really thought about exactly what made her pretty. Hadn’t realised how beautiful her skin was, how perfectly brown her perfectly shaped eyes were… And that smile yesterday, _Jesus_ …

But she wasn’t just beautiful, obviously. He knew that most of the students thought of her as just weird, but he’d spent enough time with her to see something behind that facade of coldness she always put up. Sure, she hadn’t opened up at all to Peter yet, but by reading the books she liked he could get an insight of what her actual personality might be like. And judging by how open-minded and intellectual her books were, he guessed that she too was-

“Where’s your boyfriend?”

Peter’s head snapped up, forcing himself to get back to reality. God, had he really been thinking all those things? What was happening to him…

MJ slid into Ned’s usual seat, across from Peter. Which was a bit weird, since she usually sat next to him nowadays.

“Uh, who?”

“Ned”, MJ answered, somehow managing to sound exhausted just from saying the one word.

“Um, I’m not really sure. He wasn’t in any of our classes, and he won’t answer my texts. He’s probably sick and still sleeping, I guess.”

“Mhm. He wasn’t in our class either.” She took a bite of her apple, keeping her eyes on her book.

Peter nodded, even though he knew that she probably didn’t see it.

He looked at her. She was wearing her hair in a bun on top of her head, making him able to see the edges of her face more clearly. Her jawline was surprisingly sharp, and her cheekbones very defined…

He looked away, feeling a blush starting to spread. He quickly grabbed his soda and took a long sip, hoping that the bottle would hide his face.

When it was empty he put it back down, looking down at his feet instead. Between them he had his backpack, stuffed with school books, which reminded him of the evening before. He remembered how he’d thrown his backpack on the floor on purpose to stop May and Tony from … whatever they were doing out there. He wasn’t all that surprised about May, but he figured that Tony would at least had remembered about his enhanced senses - more specifically, his hearing.

It wasn’t really that he thought it was _gross_ \- okay, maybe a little -, but he just couldn’t stand the thought of May kissing and … _doing things_ with anyone except Ben. He figured it was the son-being-protective-of-his-mother thing, and it was unbearable. He’d decided that he didn’t have any problems with May dating, or that it was Tony (although he still wanted to see them together), but this part of it all was extremely bothering to him, for some reason.

He started tapping his fingers on the table and bouncing his leg. God, he wished Ned was here, so he could talk with him about all this. Even though he was pretty sure he wouldn’t have a good solution on how to make it better, it’d still help to just talk about it.

“ _Please_ stop fidgeting, Parker,” MJ said, interrupting his thoughts. “You miss your boyfriend that much?”

Peter glared at her, which was hard considering he couldn’t look at her for more than a couple seconds without blushing. “There was actually something I wanted to talk to him about.”

“What, there’s a new nerd-film coming out?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, it’s more serious than that.”

“What is it, then?” MJ looked up at him over the edge of her book.

Peter shrugged. “Well, there’s this thing with May, and … never mind, actually. I really don’t think you’d care.”

MJ actually _put her book down_ , rested her chin in her palm, and said “Try me.”

Peter was shocked for two reasons: he didn’t think he’d _ever_ seen MJ without a book in her face (well, except for yesterday), and why did she suddenly care about Peter’s problems? Was she messing with him, making him open up to her just to make fun of him? No, she wouldn’t do that. She might’ve been a bit cold, but not mean.

“Well … May’s got this new boyfriend, and I’m fine with it and all and I really like the guy, but…”

“You can’t stand the thought of them having sex?”

Peter cleared his throat, a bit taken aback by her bluntness. “Uhh, yeah, I guess.”

“Hmm.” She looked past him thoughtfully. “A friend of mine had that problem. His parents got divorced a while ago and his mom found a new guy. And he really liked this guy, and they got along well, but then they started kissing in front of him and he got really protective of his mom. Couldn’t stand the thought of them being alone together, so he started canceling all his plans to stay home whenever the guy would stay over.”

“So what did he do?”

She shrugged. “Nothing. After a few weeks he just got over it. He said that the closer he got to the guy, the more comfortable he became with him being with his mom.” She looked at Peter. “So just try talking to this guy more, and I’m sure the protective instinct will go away.”

Peter smiled hopefully at her. “Really?”

“Really. And if that doesn’t work,” Her lips curved slightly in a small smile, and Peter’s breath caught in his throat, “just be happy for May that she’s finally getting laid.”

He rolled his eyes and cringed. “Yeah, not gonna happen. But thanks, I really appreciate it.” He smiled at her.

“Yup.” She picked up her book and leaned back in her chair, indicating that the conversation was over.

They finished their lunches in silence, but it wasn’t uncomfortable like usual. Peter kept looking up at her, thinking about the promise he’d made to Ned to ask MJ if she wanted to join their sleepover on Friday. He was still fairly certain that she would just laugh in his face and say _no_ or _I’d rather jump off a cliff_ , but for some reason he really wanted to ask her. It was probably his wish to make her feel more included in his and Ned’s group. Right?

The bell rang, and MJ quickly gathered her things and stood up without as much as a goodbye.

“Wait!” Peter exclaimed, and _of course_ the first time of the day he stumbled on his stitched leg, which still hurt a bit, would be the moment when MJ turned around and Peter stood up too quickly in his hurry to stop her before she walked away.

He put his hand on the table and avoided falling, but a deep blush still spread across his face. He looked up at MJ, who looked as unbothered as usual, as if she hadn’t seen him almost fall square on his face. “Um, I was just wondering if you’d like to … uh, join my sleepover on Friday? N-Ned will be there as well, obviously. An-and you don’t even have to spend the night, you can go home whenever you want, obviously.

MJ stared at him for two seconds, three, four, five… Peter immediately regretted asking her.

“Uh, just forget it. I-I’m sorry, I just thought-”

“Sure,” she answered, cutting him off. “As long as I get to chose the movie. I know you guys only watch like Star Wars and stuff, and _god_ , I will punch someone if I have to see those shitty-ass movies.”

Peter just stared at her with wide eyes. Had- … had she really just said yes?

“Well, I’ll see you in 5th period, dork number one.” She turned around and walked toward the cafeteria doors, leaving Peter shocked and amazed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to start uploading on regular days, so starting next week I'll upload on Sundays and Thursdays, if I have time. I'll post every Sunday, and probably most Thursdays too, unless I'm really busy. I might post again this weekend, but I'm not sure. If not, see you next week!


	5. You're beautiful

Peter was sitting in Spanish class, his 5th period. He kept doodling in his notebook while the teacher was speaking. Though he had no idea what he was drawing, since his gaze was fixated on MJ, who sat in the row in front of him to his left. He looked down at his notebook. On it was a pair of dark eyes with dark curls next to them, staring deep into his soul. He quickly erased them.

“Vale, clase!” the teacher exclaimed. “You’ll all get a sheet with sentences that you’ll translate into Spanish. You can either work alone or in pairs.”

The class started getting into pairs, but since Peter didn’t know anyone (well, except MJ, but _that_ was definitely not happening), he just took the paper from the teacher and started working.

 _At what time will you go out with your friends?_ Hmm… _A que hora vas a_ -

“Dork number one.”

Peter snapped his head up, and was met with MJ’s face just inches from his.

“Umm… yeah?”

She grabbed the empty chair next to him and sat down, laying her sheet of paper on the desk. “Since Spanish is the only subject I have a B in, and you’re like the smartest kid in this class, you’re going to help me.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, trying to be calm even though MJ’s arm was resting on the desk barely two inches from his.

“Yeah? What’s in it for me?”

She turned her head to him, staring at him for a few seconds before sighing and rolling her eyes. “Alright, we can watch Star Wars on Friday.”

Peter furrowed his brows, feeling a blush starting to spread from MJ staring at him. “How do you know I want to watch Star Wars?”

MJ cocked her head to the side and gave him a half-smile. Peter’s heart skipped a beat and he looked down at the desk.

“Umm, so how about we get started on these?” He slid his paper next to MJ’s and grabbed his pen. “How many have you done?”

“None. You?”

“I was just about to do the first one. I think it’s _a que hora vas a salir con tus amigos_.”

MJ nodded and scribbled it down on her paper. God, even her handwriting was beautiful.

“And the second one? _Do you like to play football_?”

Peter cleared his throat. “Uh… _te gusta jugar futbol_.”

She scribbled it down. “Alright, number three. _I think you are very kind_.”

When he didn’t answer she looked up at him. “Well, spit it out, Parker.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Oh no, you gotta do at least one.”

She groaned. “Well, that’s part of the reason I sat with you. You know, so that I wouldn’t have to do any work.”

He exhaled. “Part of?”

She just furrowed her brows and stared down at the paper as if she hadn’t heard him. Peter couldn’t help thinking about how cute she looked like this; a small wrinkle appearing between her brows, her eyes narrowing, the skin covering her cheekbones tightening slightly…

He forced himself to look away and took a deep breath.

“Creo que… tu eres… muy hermosa?”

Peter looked back at her, grinning. “You’re beautiful.”

She looked up at him, her frown deepening. “Excuse me?”

“Oh, no!” he exclaimed, eyes widening. “I didn’t-.. you just-.. um, that’s what you said. _Hermosa_ means beautiful.”

“Oh.” She looked down at her paper again, and Peter saw something appear in her eyes. Sadness? No, why would she…? But as quickly as it had appeared, it was gone again.

“Um, it’s not that I _don’t_ think you’re-“

“Peter, please”, she sighed. “Just tell me what the answer is.”

“Uh, _amable_ . _Creo que eres muy amable_.”

She nodded and scribbled it down.

They worked in silence from then on, except from when Peter told her the answers, and as soon as they were finished MJ grabbed her paper and went to her seat without another word. Peter sighed and kept doodling in his notebook until class was over. When he noticed he was drawing another pair of dark eyes, this time with a deep frown between them, he erased them too.

 

-

 

The ride and walk home from school went slow. Well, slower than usual. He couldn’t stop thinking about MJ, and how she had acted during class. Why had she reacted so weirdly to the whole “beautiful” thing? First she got mad when she thought he’d called her beautiful, and then, when he said he hadn’t, she got … sad? But no, she couldn’t have. Why would she care if Peter thought she was beautiful or not? She didn’t care what anyone thought of her, especially not Peter.

His mind was so occupied with this, that he completely forget about Tony joining them for dinner, until he was standing outside of his apartment door, hearing him and his aunt talking and laughing inside.

He opened the door and poked his head inside. “Um… May”?

May was standing in front of the stove in the kitchen, Tony pressed against her back and with his arms around her waist. Peter took a deep breath and looked away. _It’s fine, it’s just Tony. You know Tony. You like Tony._ He looked back up at them, and realised with joy that he was a little less bothered.

May looked up and smiled at him. “Hey, honey! Dinner will be ready in a couple of minutes. I know it’s a bit early, but we were just so hungry.”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” He shrugged off his backpack onto the floor.

Tony quickly withdrew his arms and took a step back, flashing Peter a smile. “Hey, kid. How was school?”

Peter shrugged. “Alright.” He hanged his jacket on the coat hanger, and walked into the kitchen. Tony nodded and went to set the table. May smiled at him and ruffled his hair when he was close enough. “Hey, honey, could you get me the carrots in the fridge? I’m making stew.”

Both Peter and Tony snorted, and May scowled at them. “Hey, stew is actually one of the few dishes I’m good at.”

Peter chuckled and put down the carrots next to her. “You know you’re supposed to put them in with everything else in the beginning or else they won’t get soft enough, right?”

May huffed. “Of course I do. I just forget that we had them.”

He smiled. “Of course you did.” He went to help Tony set the table, thankful that the tension between them had pretty much disappeared completely.

“So, kid”, Tony started, laying down cutlery, “you met that girl you’re in love with today?”

If Peter hadn’t had his enhanced reflexes, the plates he was holdning would have been in a million pieces, but thankfully he managed to catch them again right before they hit the floor.

He looked up at Tony with a look somewhere between surprise and anger, just as May said “Who?”

Peter sighed and glared at Tony. “Now look what you’ve done.” But Tony just grinned, casually continuing to lay down cutlery.

May grabbed Peter’s shoulder and made him turn around to face her. “ _Who_?”

Peter groaned, knowing that he could never lie to her. “ _Please_ not right now, okay?”

May furrowed her brows and let go of his shoulder. “Fine. But as soon as he’s gone home”, she pointed at Tony, who was pretending to not hear anything, “you’re going to tell me, alright?”

He sighed. “Fine.”

 

-

 

Dinner actually went pretty good. They ate for over an hour, talking and laughing. A few times Tony would lay his hand on top of May’s or stroke her cheek, but each time it became more and more easy for Peter, and by the end of dinner he was barely bothered by it at all. Of course, seeing them actually kiss in front of him would probably make him pretty uncomfortable, but he knew that it would get easier with time as well.

Throughout dinner he’d also realised how good Tony and May were together. He’d been pretty sure before that they would be, but it was still nice to see it. You could tell he adored her, and the way she looked at him was like … how she used to look at Ben. Peter had thought that he wouldn’t like it if she looked at anyone else like that, but seeing her look that way at Tony made him warm inside.

Suddenly, about an hour and 20 minutes in, Tony’s phone starting blaring. Everyone jumped in their seats and Tony quickly stood up, letting go of May’s hand to grab his phone. “Fuck”, he muttered under his breath as he looked at the screen.

“What is it?” May asked, grabbing his arm and looking at him worriedly. He sighed and put on his suit jacket, which was hanging on the back of his chair. “A mission. A few robots with weapons here in New York. It’s no big deal, but it will be if we don’t stop it.”

Peter quickly got to his feet, his brown eyes big with excitement and eagerness. “I’ll go get suited up!”

“Oh, no, you’re not.” Tony grabbed his arm before he could even turn around toward his room. “You’re staying right here with your aunt.”

“But…”

“No buts. You’re going to stay here and keep May company, and I’ll be back in an hour.”

“But the city needs us!” Peter whined, looking at Tony with pleading eyes.

“No, the city needs _the Avengers_. And last time I checked, you’re not one of them.”

Peter glared at him and yanked his arm from his grip. “I’ll follow you anyways. You can’t stop me.”

“Peter.” May looked up at him firmly, but he could see the worry and slight terror in her eyes.

“Peter.” Tony repeated, taking a step closer and looking down at him. “I _forbid_ you to come with us.”

That made Peter boil. Who the hell did Tony think he was? Telling Peter what he could and couldn’t do, in _his_ apartment, while he was putting his hands on _his_ aunt?

“Well, you’re not my _dad_ , are you?!” Peter shouted.

That shouldn’t hurt. Because it was true. Tony wasn’t his dad, not even close. So why did he look so goddamn miserable?

Tony stared at Peter for a moment, his face in a grimace, until he collected himself and put his usual poker face on.

“And that’s just wonderful, isn’t it?”

He turned to May, mumbled “I’ll see you on Friday”, and then quickly left. The _bang_ from the door being slammed shut echoed through the apartment.

They stayed quiet for a while. After a few minutes Peter turned to May and asked “What did I do?”

May sighed and stood up to clean the table. “You shouldn’t have fought back.”

Peter frowned. “That’s not- … you know what I mean.”

She turned the water on and put the dishes in the sink. “He didn’t like hearing you say that very much, I’m guessing.”

Peter’s frown deepened. “Why? He doesn’t see me as- …”

“Not exactly.” May turned to face him. “But he sees you as more than you think, Peter. He cares about you and wants to be there for you.”

Peter lifted his eyebrows. “Really?”

“Really.” May gave him a small smile. “Now, what you said is true, even to him, but it still hurt, because it probably felt like a complete rejection to him.”

He looked down at the floor, feeling ashamed. “I’m sorry.”

May stepped forward and wrapped her arms around him. “I know you are. Why don’t you tell that to him when you meet him at the compound on Thursday, alright?”

“Yeah”, Peter mumbled into her shoulder. “I will.”

He helped May clean, thinking about what she’d said the entire time. Did Tony really think of him that way? As more than just some kid he had under his guidance? He really hoped so.

At around 5:30 he went to his room to do his homework. He changed into a hoodie and sweatpants, and just as he sat down at his desk, his phone buzzed.

 _It must be Tony_ , he thought, unlocking his phone. But it wasn’t from Tony. It was from MJ. His heart skipped a beat as he quickly opened the messages app.

_Hey. I just wanted to say that I’m sorry about how I acted during Spanish. I was just having a bad day I guess_

Peter grinned like an idiot at the text, and not just because of the fact that _he had gotten a text from MJ_ , but also because she had shown him some kind of vulnerability. Telling him that she’d had a bad day was the most open she’d ever been to him. And yeah, even though it was a very small thing, it meant a lot to Peter. It was progress.

_Yeah yeah, it’s totally fine. I’ll see you tomorrow?_

_Yup._

_Goodnight, MJ_

_Goodnight dork number one_

Peter’s grin grew as he put down his phone and grabbed his backpack to pick up the book MJ had lent him the day before, determined to read as many books she would give him as possible.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that this is pretty short, but I really wanted to get another chapter up this week and I really don't think I have any time to write tomorrow. I probably won't be able to post on my regular days these next two weeks, since it's my birthday next week and I'm going on vacation for a few days the week after. So these next two weeks I'll post whenever I can and have time, and then I'll start posting on regular days :)


	6. Exciting text

Tony looked away from Peter and sighed.

Peter, who was standing in the middle of a circle of dead bodies, felt tears starting to trail down his cheeks. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to help …”

“And what exactly made you think you’d be able to help us?” Tony’s head snapped back to him, his eyes hard and filled with disappointment. “You fuck everything up. You fucked up with me, with Ben … it’s just a matter of time until you fuck up with Michelle too. Why even bother trying to do anything at all when you’re just going to fuck everything up?”

Peter sniffled and looked down at his feet. “I just wanted to be like you …”

Tony snorted, a vicious grin appearing on his lips. “You could never be like me.”

Suddenly the scene changed, and they weren’t in the streets anymore. Instead, they were standing in Peter’s bedroom. On the floor lay the corpses of all the Avengers. But Peter couldn’t make out which body belonged to which hero, their faces featureless and colors of hair blurring together.

“Look at what you’ve done.” Tony motioned to the floor, but Peter couldn’t look down. “This is all your fault. You killed them.”

“No”, Peter choked out, vigorously shaking his head. “I-I didn’t mean t-to-”

“And I thought you could become a bigger part of my life.” He chuckled lightly. “Boy, was I stupid. A killer could never be a part of my life.”

“Mr Stark, please!” Peter cried out, trying to take a step toward him, but his legs felt as heavy as concrete and he couldn’t move an inch.

“Goodbye, Peter. Perhaps we’ll see each other when I come by for May. That is, until she moves in with me and leaves you here all alone.”

Tony turned around and walked out the door, leaving a crying and begging Peter alone in his room. The sound if the door shutting replayed over and over again, along with Peter’s sobbing. But then he realised that the sound wasn’t coming from the door closing, but from someone knocking on it …

Peter opened his eyes, sat up straight and gasped for air. He looked around and noticed that he was still in his bedroom, but at his desk instead. On the table lay the book he’d gotten from MJ, opened on page 314. He must’ve fallen asleep while reading it.

The person behind the door knocked again. “Peter, are you up yet? It’s 7:30!”

Peter quickly stood up. _Shit_ , he’d overslept. “Uh, yeah, I’ll be out in a minute!”

He was still a little shaken from the nightmare, and with a swipe across his face he realised that he’d been actually crying in his sleep. When he had nightmares they were usually about the Vulture or Ben, and it had been weeks since the last one. All the built up fear of Tony not accepting him must’ve finally found its way into his subconscious.

He pulled off his hoodie and put on a dark blue t-shirt, deciding to keep the sweatpants. He threw all of his books in his backpack - including the one MJ had given him - and ran toward the door. On his way out he caught his reflection in the full-length mirror, and noticed that his sweatpants were a bit too tight, making him look like … a douche, pretty much. But he didn’t have any time to change, so he just ran out the door. He flew past May, giving her a quick _goodbye!_ and grabbed an apple on the counter. If he hurried he could catch the 7:40 subway, and he’d arrive at 8:10, which would only make him about 20 minutes late.

He hastily put on his shoes without untying them, grabbed his jacket with his free hand and draped his backpack over one shoulder, but when he opened the door he was stopped by a man in an expensive-looking suit, with his fist raised as if he was just about to knock.

Tony raised an eyebrow at the panting teenager in front of him. “Late?”

Peter just shrugged.

“You need a ride?”

He raised an eyebrow. Had Tony completely forgotten about their fight yesterday? Maybe he was just offering it to make himself look good in front of May, who was watching them from the kitchen.

“You sure?” Peter asked hesitantly.

Tony smiled and put a hand on his shoulder to lead him out the door. “Well, I didn’t come for a cup of coffee. I only offer it, not get offered.”

Peter threw a glance at May, who smiled encouragingly at him. “I’ll see you after school, honey.”

“Uh, yeah. Love you.”

In his peripheral vision he saw Tony mouthing _me too_ at May.

Tony closed to the door and led him to the elevator. “I might make it there by 8ish. I would’ve come earlier, but I got this idea like 20 minutes ago.”

“Yeah, no that’s okay. I woke up like 5 minutes ago anyways, so.”

Tony eyed him. “Is that why you look like what I imagine every jock in high school looks like?”

Peter’s gaze went to his grey sweatpants, sitting so tight that you could basically make out every single muscle in his legs. “Uh, yeah.”

Tony sniffed. “And smell like one after a game?”

Peter cringed. “Is it that bad?”

Tony grinned and put his hand on the boy’s shoulder to lead him out as the elevator doors opened. “This is how fifteen year old boys are supposed to smell, isn’t it?”

They walked out to the parking lot, their paces a bit sped up, and got into one of Tony’s more discreet cars. He pulled out and started driving toward Peter’s school.

They sat in silence for a while, the radio just a low background noise. Peter kept eyeing Tony, looking for any hint of anger from yesterday’s fight, but didn’t find anything.

“So, uhm”, he started, fiddling with his phone in his hands, “how come you picked me up today? I mean, I really appreciate it and all, but I’m a bit confused, you know?”

Tony smiled slightly. “I’m a lot of things, Peter, but not petty.” He looked at him. “I’m sorry about yesterday, I shouldn’t have gotten so mad.”

Peter shook his head. “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have gotten so angry either, you were just being protective.”

Tony nodded and looked back at the road.

Peter bit his lip and cleared his throat. He really wanted to ask this, but was a bit afraid of how Tony would react. “Why- um, why did you get so … I don’t really know what you got, but why did you react so weirdly at… uh, the thing I said yesterday?”

When Tony didn’t answer, he looked up at him. His face was unreadable, and he didn’t know how to interpret that. “I’m sorry, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.”

Tony sighed and shook his head. “No, it’s fine. You deserve to know.”

He took a deep breath, and Peter could see how much he was struggling to get the right words out.

“When I first got together with you aunt”, he said slowly, keeping his eyes on the road, “I was really worried about how you would react. I know this whole ‘some guy getting together with my aunt’ thing can be hard, especially for a teenage boy, and I just didn’t want you to be uncomfortable or anything.”

Peter looked down at his lap. “You’re not just some guy. Rather it be you, someone i know and like, than someone I’ve never met before.”

Tony flashed him a small smile before continuing. “So hearing you say that just made me … I know it’s true, even though I-” He cleared his throat. “But it felt like you let out some kind of built up anger toward me, about me coming into you and your aunt’s life. Because I- … I really want you to be involved in all this.”

Peter thought that it was a bit of a vague answer, and he still didn’t understand what Tony’s reply yesterday had meant, but it was enough for now. At least now he knew that Tony wanted Peter to be a part of this, and that made Peter all warm inside and a smile appeared on his lips.

“Yeah”, he said, looking up at Tony. “I really want that too.”

He smiled at him, longer this time, before looking back at the road and Peter understood that this was enough emotional conversation for today.

It was quiet for a moment before Peter got a text. He fished up his phone from his pocket and unlocked it. He stopped breathing for a second when he realised that it was, yet again, from MJ.

_Dude, where are you? It’s 7:58_

Peter felt Tony’s eyes on him when he couldn’t help a huge grin spreading across his face.

_I overslept, I’ll be there in like 5 min_

“Who are you texting? That girl you’re in love with?”

“No”, Peter answered, a bit too quickly.

Tony mimicked his grin. “So when do I get to meet her?”

Peter sighed, accepting that he couldn’t lie to Tony, even though he _wasn’t_ in love with MJ.

“Probably never. She kind of hates me.”

Tony hummed. “Doesn’t seem like she hates you if she’s texting you.”

“She’s just asking where I am.”

Tony snorted. “Oh, wow, she really must hate you.”

Peter glared at him. “And I’m not in love with her, we’re just friends.”

“I thought you said she hated you.”

He rolled his eyes. “Well, I’m _trying_ to become friends with her, because she’s always alone at school.”

“Does she seem like she doesn’t want to be alone?”

“Well, _no_ , but …”

“Right, so you’re in love with her.” He looked at Peter, his grin not fading.

Peter huffed. “Look, I’m just trying to be nice, alright? A guy can be nice to a girl without being in love with her.”

Tony shrugged with one shoulder. “True.”

Peter’s phone buzzed with another text from MJ. Tony looked at him.

“But a guy can’t smile at a text from a girl like that without being in love with her.”

Peter ignored him, too full of joy, as he unlocked his phone.

_Well, you’re going to sit next to me in first period cuz I don’t wanna look like a loser. So hurry_

He frowned. MJ had never cared about sitting alone in class, and especially not what people thought of it. But he was just glad - euphoric, rather - that she wanted him to sit next to her.

_Yeah? What’s in it for me?_

_I’ll sleep with you_

Peter could hear himself gulp, and Tony turned his gaze toward him with an arched eyebrow.

_What?_

_I’m joking, Parker. Don’t get too excited._

“Are you guys sexting or something?” Tony asked jokingly, but with a hint of actual curiosity. “Because you’re red as a beet.”

Peter quickly shook his head. “Uhm, no, sh-she’s just…” He cleared his throat. “Um, are we there soon?”

Tony looked at him sceptically for a moment before answering. “Yeah, we’ll be there in a minute.”

Peter nodded, and the rest of the ride went quiet.

 

-

 

“Good morning, Parker!” Mrs Hall exclaimed with way too much enthusiasm as Peter burst through the doors at 8:06. “I’m so happy you finally decided to grace us with your presence.”

Everyone in the classroom turned toward Peter, panting and slightly sweaty, as he made his way to an empty seat. “I’m sorry I’m late”, he murmured as he sat down next to MJ.

Thankfully Mrs Hall continued her lecture without agitating Peter further, and he relaxed in his seat as he pulled out his notebook from his backpack.

In the middle of Peter trying to write down all the notes before Mrs Hall erased them, he suddenly felt MJ pressing up against his side. He hastily twisted himself toward her, accidentally knocking down his pen case in the motion, and making her pull away “Um, wh-what are you…?” he whispered, but then she moved forward again, hovering her face barely an inch above his neck, making him freeze.

She slowly pulled back again, looking him in the eyes. “You didn’t shower this morning, did you?” she whispered back.

Peter cleared his throat. “I- uh- I’m- … is it that bad?”

“Well, you know, some people are into guys smelling a bit sweaty.”

Peter gulped. “And are you one of them?” he asked without thinking.

She just shrugged and turned her head to the front of the classroom.

While the teacher continued talking, Peter felt some kind of tension build up between him and MJ, though he didn’t know what it meant. Maybe it was because of the fact that MJ for some reason had her knee pressed against the outside of his thigh. It _was_ kind of a small space between seats, but that small?

After a couple of minutes MJ leaned in toward Peter again and whispered “Did you get very excited about my text?”

Peter’s eyes widened as he looked at her. “Um, what?”

She smiled, and Peter could swear his heart stopped for a second. “I really don’t hope so, because that would’ve been very easily seen through those pants.”

Peter quickly looked down at his lap, and MJ pulled back her knee with a small laugh. “Relax Parker, I’m just kidding. You blush so easily, I can’t help myself.”

He looked back up at her, and her smile was still there, making those beautiful dimples he hadn’t seen since that first time appear. “But seriously, those are some really tight pants.”

Peter could feel his blush deepen and his lips curve in a small smile. “Well, I didn’t really have time to change since I overslept.”

MJ hummed. “That explains the scent.”

“Scent? So you do like it, huh? That’s pretty weird.”

MJ huffed. “There’s a lot weird things you don’t know about me, Parker?”

“Oh, everyone already knows you’re from a freak show”, he teased.

She bumped his thigh with her knee, and Peter wished she would’ve left it there. “Don’t joke about that, it might be true. And if you keep teasing me about it I’ll send my whole family of bearded ladies and siamese twins after you.”

Mrs Hall then announced that they were going to work in pairs to answer questions about what she had just been talking about. MJ immediately claimed Peter as her partner, but since none of them had listened very well they struggled with most questions. But they still ended up having a really nice time with lots of laughs, teasing, and thigh-nudging, mostly from MJ’s part.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think I've changed my mind about reagular days, and I'll probably just post whenever I have time, hopefully still 1-2 times a week. I'll most likely only have time to post once next week, since it's my birthday tomorrow and I'm going away for a few days. I'll see you next time!
> 
> Also, please check out my new fic “A Shooting Star”. It’s about Loki coming to Earth a few years after the Infinity War, where he meets Michelle Jones. I’m a bit uncertain whether it will make a good story or not, but I had to give it a try. And don’t worry, I’ll still post on this story too!


	7. In love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry that I haven’t posted in a while! My life has just been kind of crazy, with a lot of school work and stuff. I’m also sorry that this chapter is pretty short, but I really wanted to post something today, and I’ll hopefully post something longer later this week. Anyway, enjoy!

“So are you going to confess your feelings for her soon?” Ned said as he took a bite of his pizza slice.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Peter tried, taking a long sip of his water.

Ned snorted after he’d swallowed. “Don’t BS me, dude. Like I’ve said before, you are so head over heels for her.”

Peter rolled his eyes. He’d told Ned what he’d missed while he was home sick the day before, and that morning. After they’d talked about everything with Tony and May, he reluctantly told him about what had happened with MJ. He wanted to tell Ned everything, but he was a bit scared that he would get the wrong idea with the whole MJ thing, which he clearly had.

“We’re just becoming friends, okay? A guy can be friends with a girl without being in love with her.” He realised that it was the second time today he’d had to tell someone that.

And then, speak of the devil, MJ appeared pretty much out of thin air, walking up behind Ned. “Yeah, but considering how much you blush when you talk about her, I’m pretty sure you’re in love with her.”

“Peter’s in love with who?” MJ asked right as she went past Ned, appearing in his line of vision. When she’d sat down next to Peter, Ned still hadn’t answered. He looked at Peter apologetically, who just dropped his face in his hands.

“Um, Liz?” Ned said, which sounded more like a question.

MJ huffed and shook her head. “Oh no, I’m not falling for that. Peter used to blush when he talked about her and when she was around, but that stopped a long time ago. This must be someone new, huh?” She turned to Peter and nudged his leg with her knee. He looked up at her and saw that she was wearing that half-smile, and Peter forgot to breathe for a second.

He shook his head. “It’s not, I promise. Ned’s just teasing me, right Ned?” He turned toward his friend.

Ned nodded frantically. “Yeah! Just teasing, that’s all.” He looked away and took a sip of his soda.

MJ hummed, obviously not convinced. She hadn’t looked away from Peter, staring at him intently as if she was trying to read his mind. “I’ll find out who it is, Parker. And then I’ll tease you mercilessly.”

Peter forced out a laugh, failing at trying to sound casual. “Good luck with that”, he said, sighing mentally.

Lunch went by quickly, and to both Ned and Peter’s surprise MJ hadn’t picked up a book and started reading once. They all just small talked, about school and what they were going to do on Friday. MJ was way more enthusiastic about it than Peter had expected, even though she kept complaining about having to watch Star Wars, but she agreed that a deal was a deal. Ned kept trying to find out what this “deal” was, but Peter and MJ refused to tell him.

When it was about 20 minutes before next period started, Ned got up and told them that he had to talk to his teacher before class. Though the wink he gave Peter made him question whether that was actually true or not.

And so Ned left, leaving Peter and MJ alone.

“Have you started on the Spanish homework we got yesterday?” MJ asked.

Peter nodded as he was taking a sip of his water, and put the bottle down. “No, but I probably will tonight. Why?”

MJ sighed. “I’m having a really hard time with it. It’s like the teacher thinks we’re native speakers.”

“We’re writing an essay on a topic of our choice, right?” MJ nodded. “Have you chosen a topic yet?”

“Yeah, I’m probably going to write about how poorly and unfairly treated natives in South America are. I was choosing between a lot of similar topics, but I figured that this was the most suitable one, since they, you know, speak mostly Spanish in South America.”

And in that moment, he realised, MJ had opened up a bit more to Peter. He saw something in her that he had sort of already seen before by reading the books she gave him, but he hadn’t really realised; she was kind-hearted. She was caring and passionate about people who had it worse than her. She wanted equality and to help those less fortunate. How could he not have realised this before, with all the books about feminism and third word countries she’d made him read?

He was suddenly seeing her in a different way, and it surprised him that he could see her as even better than before.

“Well, I could help you with it”, Peter said before he could stop himself. “I am the smartest kid in class, after all. Quoting you.”

“Actually”, MJ said “I said that you’re _like_ the smartest kid in class. Emphasis on the _like_.”

“Do you record all of our conversations?”

“I should since you’re making things up.”

Peter laughed. “I don’t see the difference.” It then went quiet.

“So, um, do you want me to? Help you, I mean. It’s really no problem, since I’m still going to do it myself anyways, you know?” He stared at his tray, not daring to look at her. But when she didn’t answer he looked up at her, and she was looking at him too.

“Sure”, she said before Peter had time to say that he was joking. “The library after school? And you better make me get an A.”

Peter laughed sincerely. “I promise. And I also promise that I won’t call you beautiful this time.”

He chuckled, looking at her to hopefully see the same reaction. But she had a serious look on her face, and was biting her lip slightly. “I really hope so”, she said in a low voice “because if you do, I probably won’t be able to contain myself.”

She leaned toward him slightly and put her hand on his knee, and Peter froze and caught his breath in his throat.

After about three seconds, which felt more like minutes to Peter, she withdrew her hand with a grin. “Relax, Parker. God you blush easily.” She let out a laugh. “Let’s go, next period starts in 10 minutes.”

She quickly gathered her things and stood up. She turned to Peter, who still hadn’t composed himself yet, and gave him a half-smile. “I’ll see you after school, Peter.” She turned and walk out of the cafeteria, leaving Peter speechless.

Yep, he was definitely in love with Michelle Jones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will contain a lot of Peter + MJ stuff ;)
> 
> Also, please check out my new story, “A Shooting Star”. It’s about Loki coming back to earth after the Infinity War and meeting an adult Michelle Jones :)
> 
> I’ll see you next time!


	8. Can I follow you home?

Peter couldn’t stop fiddling as he sat at a small table in the corner of the library, waiting for MJ. His last period had ended early, and so he had to sit by himself and wait while he was drowning in his own thoughts.

He and Ned hadn’t had any classes together that day, and so he hadn’t been able to talk to him about the realization he’d had at lunch: that he was in love with Michelle. 

He’d probably been in love with her for a while but had repressed his feelings. He doubted it was normal to be so nervous and blush so much around someone you weren’t in love with. And yeah, MJ  _ was _ pretty scary, but not that much. 

He wondered what it would be like meeting her now. Would he be more comfortable around her now that he had come to terms with his feelings for her, or - which he was pretty sure was impossible - even more nervous? Maybe he’d be more happy than usual to see her. Nah, that was probably also impossi-

“You know that’s a book and not a girl, right? Or are you just practicing?”

Peter looked up at his Spanish book on the table and realized that he was tapping his fingers rapidly on it. He quickly withdrew is hand to his lap and felt the familiar sensation of a blush spreading across his whole face. He looked up and saw MJ standing in front of the chair next to him. She had put her hair in a bun, which allowed him to see her features more clearly. He was once again taken aback by her beauty, which he would probably never get used to. Her defined cheekbones, chocolate eyes, smooth skin, all without a hint of makeup… 

“I really don’t hope that’s the reason you brought me here”, she said, interrupting his thoughts, “because doing that in a library is way too cheesy for me.”

Peter’s eyes widened with chock. “Uh, n-no of course not! I just wanted to help you with your, um, Spanish-”

MJ gave him that half-smile, and Peter immediately lost his ability to speak. “Wow, you really have to work on being able to tell when someone’s joking.” She hung her bookbag on the back of the chair and sat down, pulling out her computer and setting it on the table. “I really don’t know how the rest of your body can function properly with that much of your blood in your face.”

Peter looked away and took a deep breath. Yep, his nervousness around her hadn’t decreased one bit. And her saying those things definitely didn’t help.

“But seriously, do you?” she asked.

Peter turned to her. “What?”

“Do that to girls. I mean, you could probably do a pretty great job with those hands.” She dropped her hand in his lap and grabbed one of his, holding it firmly and lifting it in front of him as if she was trying to prove her point. He froze, and he swore his heart stopped for a second.

She had grabbed his knee during lunch, but this was so much more intimate to Peter because it was actual skin contact, and it was probably the first time he’d ever felt her skin. He was amazed by how incredible soft it was, and it was even smoother than he had imagined. He looked at their connected hands, and couldn’t help himself from squeezing her hand back slightly, which she thankfully didn’t notice. 

“I’d let you work those hands on me. Even in the library.”

Peter forced himself to take a deep breath and compose himself.  _ She’s not serious, she’s just teasing you _ . He turned to her and flashed her a smile. “Sure, when do we start?”

MJ looked a bit taken aback for a second, probably shocked that Peter was playing along, before she put her facade back on. “As soon as you’ve taken my shirt off.” She put her other hand on the collar of his shirt, and Peter forced himself to stay calm. “And yours too.”

_ Two can play that game _ . “Sure.” He let go of her hand and moved his along her arm, marvelling once again at how soft her skin was, and grabbed the sleeve of her t-shirt. He pulled at it slightly, but let go as soon as it revealed her bra strap, scared that it was too inappropriate. 

But MJ just smiled, leaned forward and put the hand Peter had let go of on his thigh, squeezing firmly. “Let’s skip the hands and just go all the way, okay?”

Peter eyes widened, and he quickly let go of her and yanked his thigh from her grasp as he felt the blood leaving his face to rush … somewhere else. “Fine”, he said, a bit breathless. “You win.”

MJ laughed, crossed her arms and leaned back on her chair. “Of course I do. I always do. But I gotta say that you put up a pretty good fight. I almost thought for a second that you were actually down for it.”

Peter laughed, crossing his legs uncomfortably. “In your dreams.”

MJ smiled at him and nudged his thigh with her knee. “Alright, let’s get this essay started. And remember that you’ve got to give me an A, otherwise I’ll break your fingers so that you can’t use them on that girl you’re in love with.”

Peter was filled with panic for a moment before remembering that MJ thought that he was in love with someone else. That was probably a good thing, since it might hide the fact that he was actually in love with her.

Peter had really enjoyed the time they’d spent together these last few days, and was really happy that a friendship was starting to develop between them. He would be content with them just being friends, even though he deep down wanted them to become something more, though he didn’t even let himself wish for that. Not yet, at least.

 

-

 

MJ groaned, stretching her fingers out. “My hands are cramping”, she whined. “God, this better give me an A.”

They had been sitting in the library for over two hours, and it was now just past five. “Are you done?” Peter asked, stretching his legs out as well. 

“Almost, I’ve just got to make a conclusion and check for grammar and spelling mistakes. Which is probably going to be the hardest part.”

Peter nodded, looking back at his computer screen. He’d barely started since he was too busy helping MJ and trying to focus with her knee nudged against his thigh. The thigh-nudging had kind of become their thing, but he wasn’t prepared for her digging her knee into it for an whole hour, not even in a teasing way. They hadn’t played any more of her “games”, which he was thankful for, since he really wanted to keep at least some blood in his head to be able to think properly. 

“Well, I can’t work any more on this right now. I’ll finish it tonight or tomorrow.”

MJ stood up and started to gather her things, and Peter felt his heart sink. He really didn’t want to leave her yet. 

He stood up hesitantly and started packing his backpack too, when he suddenly thought of something. “Hey, would you mind walking home instead of taking the subway?”

MJ looked at him sceptically and lifted and arched an eyebrow. “Why?”

“Uh, well, we always take different subways, but if we walked we could walk together, and I could take a small detour to, um, follow you home?” His voice was filled with uncertainty at the end when he realized how unintentionally  _ romantic _ that sounded. “Uh, I mean, you don’t have to if you don’t wan-”

“Sure.” MJ shrugged, hanging her backpack over one shoulder. “Let’s go.”

She had turned around and was walking out of the library before Peter even had time to process the fact that she had said yes. When he had, he quickly caught up with her and started walking next to her, with a few feet between them. 

After a quick visit to their lockers they started making their way to MJ’s apartment. It was about a 30 minute walk from school, and from there it would be about 20 minutes to Peter’s apartment complex. He was a bit scared that MJ would put up her cold facade during the long walk, but she remained relaxed the entire time and they talked continously. Even though Peter was pretty nervous and stuttered a lot, he still enjoyed it.

“Here we are”, MJ said as she stopped in front of an apartment complex, and Peter felt his happy mood drop. 

She turned to him and cleared her throat. “Um, thanks for helping me today. I… I really appreciate it.”

Peter flashed her a big, genuine smile. “Any time.”

She gave him a half-smile and didn’t, to Peter’s surprise, crack any joke to make it less serious. 

She started digging in her bag and Peter hesitantly turned away when she suddenly let out a groan. “Shit.”

Peter turned back quickly, a bit concerned. “What’s wrong?”

“I forgot my goddamn keys.” She sat down in the steps in front of the doors. “Darnell, my big brother, left after me this morning and so I didn’t bring my keys because I didn’t have to lock.” She groaned again and put her face in her hands. 

Peter shifted on his feet, a bit uncertain of what to do. He really wanted to help her, but didn’t really know how. “Maybe… maybe you could call one of your neighbors so they can at least let you in, and maybe you could stay with them until you family comes home?”

MJ sighed. “The intercom is broken and I don’t have any of their numbers in my phone.”

“Well, maybe you could stay with me then until they come home?” Peter asked before he could stop himself. MJ looked up at him. “I could help you finish the essay, and May’s making dinner, and it’s really not as bad as I’ve said before that it is, and-“

“Alright, Peter, you really need to learn when to stop talking.” MJ said, but smiled. Peter shut his mouth and nodded, feeling another blush spread. 

MJ cocked her head to the side and looked at him for a minute, making Peter uncomfortable. “Are you sure your aunt won’t mind?”

Peter nodded his head rapidly. “Positive. She loves guests.”

She looked at him for another moment before standing up, putting her backpack over one shoulder. “Alright, let's go then.”

 

-

 

“Are you  _ sure  _ your aunt won’t mind?”

“For the hundredth time,  _ yes _ , I’m sure she won’t mind.”

“But what if she’s already made dinner and I can’t eat it because it has meat in it?”

“She never starts dinner before six, and she would love to try a vegetarian recipe.”

“Sure?”

“Sure.”

Peter opened the door and put his head inside, somewhat worried that Tony would be there and not wanting to have that conversation with MJ right now. “May?”

May poked his head out of the kitchen. “Hi, sweetie! I was just about to start dinner, is there anything special you’d like?”

“Uhm, how about something vegetarian?”

May gave him a sceptical look. “Uh, yeah sure. But why, may I ask?”

“Because”, Peter opened the door fully, revealing MJ next to him, “she’s vegetarian.”

May’s eyes widened and a smile spread across her face. “Well, hi there, honey. I don’t believe we’ve met before.” She walked up to them to shake MJ’s hand. “I’m May, Peter’s aunt.”

“Hi May”, MJ said a bit shyly, and it was the first time Peter had seen her like that. Her cheeks turned a light shade of pink, and Peter almost dropped his jaw at how beautiful it look on her. “I’m Michelle. I go to the same school as Peter.”

“Well, make yourself at home, Michelle”, May said and took a step back to let MJ take her jacket off.

“You really don’t have to make something vegetarian, ms Parker. I can eat when I get home.”

May just waved her off. “Oh, nonsense. I’ve always wanted to try out a vegetarian recipe, and please, call me May.” 

MJ smiled at her and walked into the apartment. May turned to Peter sharply, but excited, and mouthed  _ is that her? _

Peter considered just rolling his eyes at her, but he knew that she would understand anyway, so he nodded. Her smile grew and she turned around to put her arm around her shoulders. MJ, to Peter’s surprise, didn’t so much as flinch at the contact. “How about you two put your stuff in Peter’s room and then maybe you could help me with dinner? I honestly have no idea how to make anything vegetarian.”

MJ laughed genuinely. “Sure, that’s no problem.”

May gave her shoulder a squeeze before letting go. She gave Peter a wink as they walked into his room, which made him roll his eyes.  

Of course his room would be even messier than usual the day the girl he’s in love with walks into it. She followed his example and threw her backpack onto his chair. They then stood in silence for a moment, both unsure of what to do.

“You don’t really have to help her with dinner, you know”, Peter said after a few seconds of awkward silence. “She could probably find a recipe on her phone.”

“No, it’s no problem”, MJ said with a smile that made Peter forget how to breath for a second. “I like cooking.”

Peter inhaled and nodded. “So you don’t want to finish the essay?”

She shrugged. “Maybe we’ll have time after dinner, or I’ll just do it tomorrow.”

Peter nodded again. “Alright, then.” They walked out of his room and helped May with the vegetarian dinner, more so MJ than Peter. MJ wouldn’t stop nudging him in his ribs and thigh, but did it discreetly so that May wouldn’t notice.

After about half an hour they were basically finished, and May insisted MJ and Peter sat down while she set the table, since they had been so helpful with the food. And so they sat down at the dinner table and started talking about school and decathlon, and she had once again her knee pressed against his thigh the entire time. Peter wondered if it was a thing she did with all people, but soon realized that she barely had body contact with anyone.

Suddenly the door flew open and in walked Tony Stark himself, dressed in one of his very expensive-looking suits. He immediately found May and walked into the kitchen to greet her with a kiss, which she happily returned.

Peter didn’t really think anything of it, until MJ turned to him with eyebrows raised so high they almost disappeared in her hairline. “Does Iron Man normally walk into your apartment and kiss your aunt?”

Peter opened his mouth but closed it again. What was he supposed to say? He cleared his throat. “Uh, he’s actually my boss at the internship.”

“Okay, does  _ your boss _ normally walk into your apartment and kiss your aunt?”

Peter bit his lip. “Uh, yeah, kind of.”

MJ stared at him for a moment before gasping and putting her hand to her mouth. “He’s the boyfriend, isn’t he?”

“Hi there, kids!” Tony suddenly exclaimed as if he hadn’t noticed them until then. A smile spread across his face when they turned toward him. “Is that the girl?”

Peter felt his cheeks turn red as MJ said “What girl?”

Peter cleared his throat and forced himself to flash Tony a smile. “No, this isn’t Liz, it’s Michelle.”

Tony kept grinning and walked over to them to shake her hand. “Hi, I’m Tony. It’s nice to meet you.”

MJ did not like Tony Stark, and had expressed that on many occasions, but she had clearly decided to be polite to him when they were in Peter and May’s apartment, and took his hand. “I’m Michelle.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Michelle”, Tony said with a smile.

MJ’s phone then started to ring. She fished it out of her pocket as Tony made his way back to the kitchen and answered. “Hi, mom. No, I’m just at a friend. Yeah I’m sorry I didn’t call you, but I forgot my keys, and - … yeah, I will. I’ll be there in 20 minutes. Bye.”

She sighed as she hung up and looked up at Peter. “That’s my mom, I’ve got to go home.”

Peter nodded, trying his best not to show the disappointment of her leaving so early he felt inside. “Alright.” He considered asking to follow her home, but didn’t want to push it.

MJ walked over to May and apologized about not being able to eat with them, but May just smiled and said that they would taste it and see if it was good enough to make again when she came over next time. She just gave Tony a firm nod, and Peter followed her to the door.

“So, she’s dating Tony Stark, huh?” MJ said as she put her jacket on, keeping her voice low so that they wouldn’t hear her from the kitchen. “She must be getting it good then, considering his playboy status.”

Peter groaned and leaned his head against the doorframe. “ _ Please _ don’t say that. God, that image is now burned into my retina.”

MJ laughed and put on her backpack. 

They just looked at each other in silence for a moment then before Peter cleared his throat. “Well, uh, I guess I’ll see you tomorrow?”

MJ nodded and opened the door. “You will. You know, if I don’t get sick or something. I might catch the stomach flu and all that good stuff.”

Peter laughed. “Let’s hope not.”

MJ walked out the door. “Bye.” Peter said it back and she walked to the elevator. As she waited for it to arrived, she turned back to him with that half-smile Peter had started to love. “Goodnight, Peter.”

“Goodnight, Michelle.” And then she was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed it!  
> Alright, so I have a question for you guys. If Tony, May and Peter moved together, would you prefer if Tony either:  
> a) bought a new, fancy apartment in New York that they all moved into, or  
> b) moved in with Peter and May at their current apartment?  
> I'm not going to count the votes or anything like that, I just want to know what you guys think, IF this ever happens ;)  
> See you next time!


	9. Blood rush

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, I know, but the next part is so different from this and so I didn't want them both in the same chapter. Hopefully I'll post again this wekeend, or at least in the beginning of next week.  
> Enjoy! :)

“I knew it”, Ned said, his grin widening. “I knew it all along.”

Peter smiled back, looking down at his tray. “Yeah, you did.”

They were sitting in the cafeteria, and it was the first time that day they saw each other, since Peter hadn’t had any classes with neither Ned nor MJ before lunch. He had just told him about his feelings for MJ and Ned wasn’t the least bit shocked.

Which wasn’t what you could’ve said about Tony and May. A millisecond after MJ had left yesterday they had bombarded him with questions about her and whether they were together or not. May wanted to know when she would be back, and Tony had with a shoulder nudge asked him if they had kissed yet. May had finally put a stop to it when Tony was determined to give Peter “the birds and the bees” talk, which Peter was extremely thankful for.

“She actually followed me home yesterday”, Peter said, taking a sip of his soda to act casual.

Ned dropped his jaw. “ _Dude_. Did you guys, like … ?

“No!” Peter exclaimed, almost choking on his drink. “It’s not like that! So far we’re just friends, and that happened recently.”

“So what did you do?”

“I just helped her with an essay we have in Spanish.”

“But you’re gonna make a move on her, aren’t you?”

Peter sighed. “I don’t know, Ned. It took months for her to even consider me a friend, and I’m pretty sure she doesn’t see me like that.”

“Well, you’re not really the right person to judge that kind of thing. You thought Liz had no interest in you at all, but she went to prom with you.”

“But that’s different”, Peter argued. “MJ doesn’t like anybody that way.”

“Just because she hasn’t before doesn’t mean she never will.”

Peter nodded, not really convinced. “Maybe.”

“What do you guys usually talk about or do when you hang out?”

He shrugged. “Well she usually, uh …. touches my thigh?”

Ned raised an eyebrow. “She touches your thigh?!”

“Just with her knee. And, uh, her hand.”

Ned snorted. “Dude, you are so blind. She never touches anybody. And in that way? Damn.”

“But she doesn’t do it seriously!” Peter explained. “We just play this little game where she starts saying something flirty - ironically, of course! And then we keep going until someone gives up. Which is always me.”

“Uh huh. And what’s the farthest you’ve gone?”

Peter took a sip of his drink. “She .. she squeezed my thigh and, uh” He bit his lip. “Asked me to take her in the library.”

Now it was Ned’s time to almost choke on his drink. “ _Dude_ ”.

“But again, not serious!”

Ned chuckled. “I understand what they mean now when they say that love is blind.”

Peter rolled his eyes, but then he saw a familiar bundle of curls coming toward them. MJ was wearing her hair down, and the only time Peter had seen that before was during a few seconds before plummeting toward the ground in an alley. He had to focus on not dropping his jaw as she made her way toward them, flashing Peter that half-smile. She threw her bag on the table and sat down next to him.

“Wow”, Ned said mockingly, “I didn’t know a robot could smile. I wonder what could be the cause…” He looked at Peter meaningly, who felt his cheeks getting hot.

“Don’t mistake my facial expression for actual emotions, Leeds”, MJ said as she opened her bottle of orange juice. “I’ve still got plans to dominate the entire human race.”

“I don’t doubt that you could to that as both a robot _and_ a human”, Peter said and smiled back at her.

“Cheers.” MJ hit Peter’s soda bottle with hers.

“But when you do, just remember who helped you with your Spanish essay.”

MJ pretended to think for a moment. “You’re right. I’ll let you live, _if_ I get an A.”

Peter laughed. “Deal.”

MJ smiled at him and looked down at her tray to start eating. Peter looked back at Ned, who was grinning and gave him a wink. He rolled his eyes.

“So, about tomorrow”, MJ started. “What’s the plan?”

Peter put his bottle down. “Well, I was thinking that you guys could come to my place at like 6 instead of directly after school, so that you don’t have to bring clothes and toothbrushes and stuff to school. Oh, uh, but if you didn’t wanna spend the night MJ, you could just go home with me when school’s over, if you want to.”

“Actually, is it okay if I do spend the night?”

Both Peter and Ned went still, staring at MJ. She rolled her eyes.

“My family will be out of town until Monday night, and I might as well stay with you dorks instead of being alone at home. But I honestly don’t know which one is more sad.”

“Uh, sure”, Peter choked out, then cleared his throat. “Um, Ned can take the top bunk and you can sleep on the couch, if that’s okay? I’d let you take one of the bunks, but I’m, uh, guessing you don’t want to share room with one of us.”

“Actually, Peter…” She grabbed his thigh and leaned forward until her lips were barely half an inch away from his ear. “I’d like to share a bunk with you.”

Peter froze, and for once he didn’t blush, since all of his blood rushed to his… lower regions. The hand squeezing his thigh, even farther up than last time, the hot breath tickling his skin and the sweet scent of _her_ nearly became too much for Peter, and he had to clench his fists around the back of his chair to keep them in place. “MJ”, he choked out, so quiet he wasn’t even sure that she’d heard him. “Please, don’t…”

MJ, seemingly unaware of what she was doing to Peter, let go of him and leaned back with a grin. Peter felt relieved when at least some of his blood came rushing back up.

She turned to Ned. “He blushes so easily, doesn’t he?”

“I don’t know”, Ned said with an arched eyebrow and a grin. “He never blushes _that_ much.”

Peter huffed. “You seem a little _too_ obsessed with making me blush.”

“Nope, just obsessed with teasing the hell out of you.”

They kept talking for a few more minutes, mostly about decathlon and who would bring which snacks tomorrow, until the bell rang. Ned was quick to gather his things and leave since his class was in another building, and so Peter and MJ were once again alone. MJ stood up and started gathering her things, but when Peter was about to do the same he suddenly realized that all of his blood hadn’t left his lower regions from MJ’s little “game”. _Shit_.

Peter cleared his throat and sat back down. “Uh, MJ?”

“Mhm?” She looked up at him.

Peter cleared his throat again, completely mortified. “I-, uh, I can’t get up yet.”

MJ furrowed her brows. “Why?” She then looked down and her expression softened. “Oh.”

Peter looked down at the table and had never wanted to just disappear more than he did in that moment.

MJ sat back down with a soft smile. “I’m sorry about that. I always forget how easily affected 15 year old boys are.”

Peter looked up at her with a frown. “You’re not going to tease me?”

“Nah, I figure you’re embarrassed enough already.”

Peter breathed a laugh. “You’re correct.”

“Alright, just imagine Ned in one of those man-bikinis. You know, the green one with the g-string.”

“Wow.” Peter laughed, relieved that it actually helped. “That works, but now that is burned into my retina.”

“Along with the image of Tony Stark doing your aunt?”

Peter arched an eyebrow toward her, but couldn’t help a small smile.

MJ laughed. “I’ll happily fill your retina with every single horrible scenario you can imagine.”

“Thanks”, Peter said sarcastically. “And, uh, thanks for helping me with… this.”

“Well, if I squeeze your thighs and tell you that I wanna sleep with you I kind of have to be able to deal with the aftermath. Did this happen in the library yesterday?”

“Uh, I’m not really sure. Maybe? We were there for so long that it might have disappeared.” He was surprised by how easily he could talk about this with her. But she was just taking it so well; he had been certain that she would tease him to death or maybe even be uncomfortable. But she was dealing with it like… like a friend.

“Is it better now?” She asked with just a hint of teasing.

Peter glanced down. “Yeah, let’s go.”

They grabbed their stuff and made their way out of the cafeteria, toward their lockers. “So”, MJ said when they reached Peter’s locker. “I turn you on, huh?”

Peter groaned. “ _Please_ don’t.”

MJ laughed. “Well, I guess I shouldn’t take it as a compliment. With that amount of hormones coursing through your body even Ned could probably give you a boner.”

“Please say that again a little louder, I’m not sure everyone in the other building heard you.”

MJ gave him that half-smile and elbowed him in the ribs. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Peter elbowed her back and gave her a smile. “Don’t go around and give more guys boners.”

She laughed again. “Don’t worry, you’re the only one.”

She gave him a wink and then made her way to her own locker, leaving Peter once again amazed by the sight of her beautiful curls, and all he could think about was threading his fingers through them.

God, he really was head over heels for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll hopefully post again within a few days, and I think that Peter will hang out with the Avengers in the next chapter, and maybe there'll be some DadTony stuff ;) See you next time!


	10. Welcome to the tower

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So before this chapter starts I just want to clear the whole situation with the Avengers. The events in Civil War have happened, but since I don't want to put a lot of effort into and focus the story on fixing their relationships, I'm just going to say that they had fixed their problems and gotten together again before this story started. So enjoy some domestic Avengers :)

_ Hey kid _

_ Hi Mr Stark! _

_ I think we’re past the “Mr Stark” thing, don’t you? Just call me Tony, please _

_ Alright, Tony! _

_ :) _

_ Why are you texting me while I’m at school? _

_ It’s not that it’s not okay, I’m just curious! _

_ Your aunt is working an extra shift tonight and won’t be home until after midnight, and she called me and asked if it was alright if you spent the night at the tower. She wanted to call you too, but her break was over when we were finished. Is that alright with you? _

_ You’ll still be training this afternoon, and I’ll drive you to school tomorrow _

_ Yes, of course! _

_ Will the rest of the Avengers be there? Or are they still at the compound? _

_ Steve was originally supposed to be the only one there to train with you, but when the rest heard that you were going to spend the night all of a sudden everyone wanted to start moving their stuff to the tower. So yes _

_ Cool!! _

_ Will May come over too when she’s finished her shift? I don’t want her to be alone at the apartment _

_ Yes she will _

_ My thumbs are getting numb kid. Let’s talk in the car alright? I’ll pick you up after school _

_ Alright Mr Stark! _

_ **Tony _

_ :)) _

Peter put his phone back in his pocket before his teacher could catch him and tried to focus on what they were saying.

Thursday was the day Peter visited the compound and trained with the Avengers. Even though he’d turned down the spot a few months ago Tony still thought that he should train with them if he wanted to join in a couple of years, and Peter had no objections.

But this was the first time he would train at the tower, since Tony had just bought it back, and he had never spent the night at neither the compound nor the tower. Where would he sleep? Would he have his own room at the tower? Probably not, since he’d only had his own room at the compound because it was arranged before he’d turned down the spot.

The bell then rang, snapping him out of his thoughts. He followed his classmates example and gathered his things and made his way to the door. 

When he had just made it past the door frame someone suddenly grabbed his arm from next to him, making him stop in his tracks and stumble backwards. When the classmates behind him started crashing into him the person roughly pulled him to the side. Peter immediately turned around to see who it was, guessing that it was Flash pulling a prank on him, and found himself barely an inch from MJ’s face. She grinned at him, and Peter was the one taking a step back, overwhelmed by her beauty and scent, all of it being so  _ close _ .

“Sorry if I scared you”, she said, taking a step back as well and sounding a bit embarrassed. “My class ended early, and I just wanted to double check what I’m supposed to bring tomorrow.”

Peter frowned slightly. Had she really waited for his class to finish just to ask him what snacks she would bring? Couldn’t she just have texted him, or asked him tomorrow during school? He didn’t really dare to wish it, but the thought that she had maybe stayed just to see him made him warm inside. And even if that wasn’t the case, he was still really glad to see her.

“Oh, yeah, sure. You were supposed to bring some soda and popcorn, right?”

“Does it matter which soda? I hope not, ‘cause I’m getting my favorites whether you guys like it or not.”

Peter chuckled. “Yeah, that’s alright.”

They made their way to the lockers together, stopping at Peter’s first. MJ leaned against the locker next to him.

“So is you aunt and her playboy boyfriend going to be home tomorrow?”

Peter turned to her with an arched eyebrow and huffed out a laugh. “No, I’ve kicked them out. They’re going out for dinner.”

“Hmm”, MJ said and smirked. “Well, you know what usually happens after dinner.”

Peter sighed, but still smiled. “They’re coming back home afterwards, somewhere around midnight. And I’m guessing they won't … do that when they have three teenagers at home.”

“You know Ned’s probably going to freak out when Tony comes in, right?”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying to prepare him for days, but I’m still not sure he won’t pass out.”

MJ laughed. “He’s such a fangirl.”

Peter smiled at her. “And, uh, are you sure that you’re okay with it? With Tony being there, I mean.”

MJ shrugged. “I think I might be able to avoid punching him.” She must’ve seen Peter’s concern on his face, because she laughed and added “Don’t worry, Peter. I can stand being in the same room as someone with different opinions than me.”

Peter exhaled and nodded. “You sure? Because he could just stay at the tower, I’m guessing May just wanted someone to help her take care of the three of us, but I can convince her that we’ll be very good.”

MJ smiled. “It’s alright, Peter. But thanks.”

Peter smiled back, and felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He fished it up and unlocked it.

_ Kid, where are you? I’m waiting for you in the parking lot _

“What is it?” MJ asked.

“It’s Mr St- Tony. He’s in the parking lot waiting to pick me up to drive me to the tower for … uh, internship stuff.” He felt a knot taking place in his stomach for having to lie to MJ. 

“Alright, I’ll see you tomorrow then, dork.”

“You’re going to be just as much a dork as Ned and I after our Star Wars marathon tomorrow.”

MJ groaned. “Do we have to watch  _ all  _ of them?”

“All of them.”

“Well, no matter how dorky I become, remember that you’ll always be the dorkiest of us. Dork number one.”

He smiled. “Don’t worry, I won’t forget.”

She smiled back and bumped his shoulder with hers. “Well you’d better get going so that your aunt’s playboy boyfriend won’t be mad.”

Peter huffed out a laugh and closed his locker. “I will. See you tomorrow.”

“Bye, dork number one.” She waved at him as she made her way to her locker. 

Peter flung his backpack over his shoulder and hurried out of the building to the parking lot. When he’d run down the steps in front of the doors he stopped for a moment to try and figure out which car was Tony’s, since he probably wouldn’t drive the one Happy usually drove. 

It only took him a few seconds to find it. And then he groan.

_ Of course _ Tony had picked the flashiest car he owned, making the other cars in the parking lot look like they were straight from the dump. Students had already started gathering around it, pushing each other to get a better look.

Peter sighed and made his way toward the car, pushing through the swarm of students. Everyone went quiet and stared when he opened the passenger door and threw his backpack in, and he prayed that they couldn’t see Tony in the front seat through the open door.

Someone behind him put a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, whose car is this?”

Peter turned around to face someone he vaguely remembered seeing in the hall a few times, but didn’t know the name of. “My boss’”, he muttered, shrugged the hand off of his shoulder and slid in the back seat. Right before he closed the door he caught sight of MJ standing on top of the steps, grinning widely at him. He gave her a small, awkward wave and closed the door.

“Hey, kid. How was school today?” Tony asked, smiling at him in the rearview mirror.

“It was alright. Uh, you couldn’t have picked a less flashy car?”

“I don’t have any less flashy cars.” He gave him a wink, put on a pair of sunglasses and drove off. “Was that your girlfriend on the steps?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “It was MJ.”

“She looked happy to see you.”

Peter huffed. “Probably just happy to see me get embarrassed.”

“That makes two of us.”

Peter glared at him in the rearview mirror. “So you  _ did _ pick a flashy car on purpose?”

“I never said that. I didn’t lie when I said that I don’t own less flashy car. But would I lie if I said that I didn’t get any satisfaction at all from seeing your face when you saw the car? Yes I would.”

“Haha”, Peter said sarcastically. “So, um, May’s coming later, huh?”

“Yes, don’t worry about that. I wouldn’t want her be alone at the apartment either.”

Peter smiled. “Okay, good.”

It went silent then, though not in an uncomfortable way. Peter fiddled a little with his phone before clearing his throat. “So, uh, where’s she going to sleep?”

Tony looked at him in the rearview mirror. “With me, I guess? Unless you’re not comfortable with that, of course.”

“No, that’s fine.”

Tony nodded and looked back at the road.

Another moment of silence passed before Peter cleared his throat again. Tony looked back at him. “And, um, I’m going to sleep… where?”

“In your room?” Tony arched an eyebrow. “Why, do you want your aunt to sleep in your room? Because that’s fine.”

“I’ve got my own room?” Peter’s eyes widened.

Tony chuckled, finally getting Peter’s point. “Of course you do. You might not be on the team yet, but who knows what will happen in the future? And I want you to still have your own room for when you’re training and if you spend some time here, like you’re doing now.”

“Wow”, Peter breathed. “That’s- … thank you, Tony.”

They smiled at each other, and the last ten minutes of the ride went in silence.

When they pulled up at the tower Peter was basically jumping in his seat with excitement. He’d never been in the tower before, and it had been a dream of his for many years. 

“Take it easy, kid. Save some of that energy for sparring with Cap.”

They entered the building and the lobby was filled with stacks of boxes almost to the ceiling, but was otherwise empty of people, except for Happy standing in one corner talking on the phone with a tablet in each hand.

Peter turned to Tony. “No receptionist?” 

“Nah, I’d like to keep it private, with as little employees as possible. Especially if you’re going to walk in and out of here every week. People will notice, and they’ll talk.”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, you’re probably right.”

They walked through the lobby, or rather the maze of boxes. Peter waved at Happy as he passed him, who just glared at him while continuing to talk in the phone.

They entered the elevator and Tony told F.R.I.D.A.Y. to take them to the Avengers common room.

“ _ It’s nice to see you, Peter _ ”, the AI greeted. “ _ How’s your shoulder? _ ”

“It’s fine, thank you.”

“ _ And your head? _ ”

Peter grinned. “I haven’t had any complaints so far.”

Tony burst out laughing and wrapped and arm around his shoulders. “Jesus, where’d you learn  _ that _ ?”

Peter shrugged and felt a blush starting to spread, feeling a bit embarrassed about what he’d just said. “I heard a guy at school say it once.”

“Well that’s. Hilarious. Consider that stolen.”

The elevator doors opened with a  _ ping _ and Tony led him out into the Avengers common room. Peter’s eyes widened and his jaw dropped.

“Oh my  _ God _ . This is at least twice as big as the living room at the compound!”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “Peter, you were here literally three days ago, remember? Dislocated shoulder and a huge piece of glass stuck in your leg?”

Peter shrugged. “Well, I guess I didn’t really pay much attention to it then because I, you know, was focusing on other stuff.”

He then saw someone walking out of the hallway to his left, and Clint entered the common room. “It was about time you guys arrived. It was getting really boring around here, and Happy sure as hell isn’t very fun company.”

Peter turned to the archer with a smile. “Hey, Clint!”

“Hey, squirt. What’s up?”

“Nothing much. Did you know I’m gonna spend the night here?”

Clint chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure everyone knows”, he said as he made his was to the couch. ”That’s probably why they’re all on their way here.”

Peter jumped over the back of the couch and landed next to Clint. “So what are we gonna do?”

“You”, Tony said, grabbing Peter’s shoulder from behind, “are going to train with Cap and then go to bed. Early. It’s still a school night even if you’re spending it here.”

“Oh, come on, Tony!” Peter whined.

“Yeah, come on, Tony!” Clint mimicked.

“No objections. My tower, my rules. And you know your aunt is going to be really pissed if you’re still awake when she comes here.”

Peter groaned, knowing he was right.

“I’m gonna go make some coffee”, Tony announced, making his way to the kitchen. “Babysitting a stubborn fifteen year old requires coffee.”

Once he’d left Clint turned to Peter with a grin. “Ignore him. Are you ready for the best sleepover ever?”

Peter grinned back, and was just about to reply with a  _ hell yeah _ when the elevator doors opened, revealing the rest of the Avengers. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to thank you guys so much for the response I've been getting on this story. I'm not kidding when I say that I refresh this story at least 15 times a day to see if I've gotten any new comments, so please, if you have time, leave one ;)  
> See you next time!


	11. Take a deep breath

“Well, if it ain’t the squirt”, Sam said as he walked out of the elevator, the rest of the team coming out behind him.

“Don’t act like you didn’t know he was here”, Clint said without moving his gaze from the TV. “That’s why we’re all here, isn’t it?”

“I never said that, I’m just happy to see him.” Sam ruffled Peter’s hair as he went to sit down next to him but Wanda got there first, climbing over the back of the couch. “So what are we doing tonight, Peter? Games all night? Movie marathon?”

“He’s”, Tony said as he walked out of the kitchen, a mug of coffee in hand. “Going to be early. No discussion.”

“I bet that would’ve sounded different if his aunt wasn’t coming over too”, Natasha said with a smirk, sitting down in one of the chairs. Vision sat in the other chair and Steve, Bruce and James filled the other couch. Sam sat down next to Wanda with a huff. “Scared of your girlfriend, huh?”

“Shitless”, Tony admitted. “If May told you that Peter had to be in bed by ten, would you dare go against her?”

Natasha shrugged. “You’re right, I probably wouldn’t.”

“Ten?” Peter whined, turning around in his spot on the couch to face Tony. “But you said she wouldn’t be home before midnight! Can’t I just go to bed ten minutes before she gets here, and you’ll just tell her that I went to bed at ten?”

“That probably won’t work, kid”, James spoke up. “Nothing goes past May.”

Tony nodded and raised his mug toward the man. Peter sighed. 

“You wanna start training now, Pete?” Steve asked as he stood up. “We’ll be finished sooner and you’ll have more time afterwards before going to bed.”

Peter quickly got to his feet and grinned. “Yeah, let’s go!”

“Maybe the whole team should do some training?” Natasha suggested. “You know, to work on out teamwork. Peter hasn’t really done that with us yet.”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Who’s in?”

Everyone except Vision, Bruce and James said they wanted to join. 

“I think I’ll pass too”, Tony said. “I have some work I need to catch up with.” He turned to Peter. “Is that okay with you?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, it’s fine.”

“I’ll be in my office in my suite if you need me. And don’t let Captain Star Spangled overwork you, alright? You might be a superhuman, but even they have their limits.”

“Yeah yeah.” Peter was already rummaging through his backpack for his suit, not paying much attention to what Tony was saying.

“Alright, don’t break him.” Peter looked up from his backpack and saw Tony giving Steve a very serious look before walking into the elevator.

 

-

 

“Why can’t I use the suit?” Peter whined, giving Steve his puppy eyes.

“Because you rely too much on it”, Steve answered while he tied his shoelace. “The webshooters, wings, your AI. Today I want you to focus on your own abilities to fight and protect yourself.”

Peter sighed and threw his suit on one of the benches in the gym. “So when are the others coming here?”

The doors to the gym swung open, and in marched Clint, Natasha, Sam and Wanda. 

“What took you so long?” Steve asked and crossed his arms.

“We went to get changed”, Clint answered, walking up to them. “Which for some reason you guys didn’t.”

“Alright, everyone”, Steve called out, ignoring Clint. “We’ll start training as a team in about twenty minutes, so you can all do whatever you want until then.”

Clint and Natasha went to the left corner together to train, while Sam and Wanda started warming up by themselves.

“Hey, can I still use my adhesive powers?” Peter asked Steve. “I mean, they’re a part of me and not some kind of equipment. They don’t go away with the suit.”

Steve thought for a moment before nodding. “Alright, sure. But then…” He turned and looked past Peter. “Sam! I need you here. And bring the wings.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Hey, why do he get to use his suit and not me?”

Steve grinned and ruffled his hair. “We’re here to train you, not Sam. If you’re going to use your adhesive powers we need to train you in situations were climbing walls won’t be an advantage for you.” He gave him a pat on the shoulder. “That’s how you improve, Peter.”

Peter sighed, but nodded.

“But let me give you a tip”, Steve said with a lower voice. “Don’t climb walls, at least not too much. Sam will be expecting it, and that suit is not really designed for when you’re fighting on the ground.”

Peter smiled. “Thanks, Steve. I’m gonna beat his ass.”

Steve looked like he was going to correct him for a moment, but just ended up giving him a smile. “You’d better.”

 

-

 

Peter had followed Steve’s suggestion and stayed on the ground with Sam. Steve had turned out to be right; being on the ground was very much to Sam’s disadvantage, since it wasn’t what he was used to. Unfortunately, it wasn’t what Peter was used to either, and after about fifteen minutes when Sam almost landed a punch on him he leaped to the wall out of pure habit and instinct. And when he was on there it felt so good he just kept climbing upwards until he reached the tall ceiling.

He turned around to grin at his teammates on the ground, when he realised that Sam had quickly caught up with him. What he would usually do in this situation was to take a leap and shoot a web to get away from the man, and so he did. He remembered about a fraction of a second too late the he wasn’t wearing his suit, and therefore not his webshooters either.

He felt a sharp pain in his right foot and heard a loud  _ crack _ , and he somehow managed to turn his head to the side before he hit the ground, the air being completely knocked out of him.

Before really comprehending what had happened, he was being turned over and pressed down by a firm hand on his shoulder. “Breathe”, Natasha told him. He tried and failed. “Come on, Peter. Take a deep breath.” 

He wheezed, but didn’t manage to take a proper breath. Natasha’s frown deepened. “You can do it, Pete. Like this.” She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, keeping eye contact with him. 

Peter only managed to wheeze, and it was short and fast. His lungs were beginning to burn. Natasha cupped his cheek with her other hand. “I know you’re in pain Peter, but you have to focus on your breathing. Please, take a deep breath for me.”

Peter hadn’t noticed the pain until she mentioned it. There was an increasing throbbing in his chest and head, and an intense pain flared up in his right ankle. He wanted to whine, but had no air in his lungs to do so.

“Why isn’t he breathing?” Steve appeared in his line of vision, behind Natasha. “Can’t he breath?”

“He got the air knocked out of him”, Natasha mumbled, not taking her eyes off of Peters’. “Check his ankle, Clint.” She took another deep breath and looked at Peter meaningly, wanting him to follow her example. He tried, but couldn’t seem to find his lungs. Except for the throbbing he had no feeling in his chest, and only heard himself slowly wheeze without being able to control it.

Suddenly the pain in his ankle flared up again, even more intense this time, and he stopped breathing. Natasha grabbed his chin and tilted his head upwards, and he heard himself starting to wheeze again. “A little careful, Clint? Too much pain or stimulation can make him stop breathing.”

“Damn, it’s swollen as hell”, Clint mumbled. “Might be broken, or at least sprained.”

“ _ Shit _ ”, Sam said, appearing on Peter’s other side, as well as a concerned Wanda, who put her hand in his hair. “Damn, I’m sorry Peter. I- I didn’t mean to…”

“Well, sorry won’t make him breath again, will it?” Clint snapped and turned his head to Sam. “Unless you have something to say that will actually help him, then you might as well shu-”

“Guys, please”, Natasha said, still not taking her eyes off of Peter. “He’s turning a bit blue.” He saw concern starting to slip through her facade of calmness.

Peter’s lungs were burning, and he felt himself lose more and more control over his body, making him panic. 

Then Steve leaned forward past Natasha, put a hand on Peter’s sternum and started rubbing roughly. Natasha moved over to let Steve get closer to Peter, though still kept a hand on his shoulder.

The pain in Peter’s chest started to ease, so he guessed that he was starting to breath at least a little. After a few seconds Steve pushed down hard and Peter finally gasped. He kept his hand on Peter’s sternum until his pants turned into deep breaths. 

Steve scooted backwards and Natasha took his place again, cupping Peter’s face. “Are you okay?”

Peter nodded and coughed. “Y-yeah.”

The room was quiet as Peter tried to get control over his breathing. After about a minute Clint let out a loud sigh. “Tony’s going to kill us.”

Peter looked down at him. “Huh? I- I’m fine.”

Clint arched an eyebrow. “Really?”

Peter felt a sharp pang of pain in his right ankle and drew in a sharp breath between clenched teeth. 

Natasha gave Clint a sharp look. “Seriously?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt him, I just put my hand on his calf. We should probably get this x-rayed.”

Natasha let go of Peter’s face and stood up so that Steve could carefully gather Peter in his arms and lift him up. He made his way to the elevator, the rest of the team following behind.

They stopped at the common room and everyone except Steve, Peter and Natasha walked out, the three of them continuing down to the med.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. had informed Bruce about what had happened and he was waiting for them when they arrived. Steve walked across the room and put Peter down on one of the beds. Peter probably would’ve complained about being carried, but he was just so exhausted and in so much pain.

“So how are you doing, Peter?” Bruce asked, placing a hand on his head. “I heard you didn’t breath for a good minute.

“He wheezed, but didn’t take any proper breaths.” Natasha sat down on a chair next to Peter’s leg, across from Steve who had also sat down on Peter’s other side.

“I’m fine”, Peter said, but it didn’t sound too convincing since he was still a little dizzy from the short lack of oxygen.

“Hmm”, Bruce said and walked down the bed to Peter’s feet. He grabbed his right foot, making Peter wince and inhale sharply. Bruce gave him an apologetic look and started to carefully peel off Peter’s shoe and sock. 

“Yeah”, Bruce said after a moment. “We have to x-ray this.”

Peter then heard yelling from above them, most likely the common room. He guessed that he was the only one in the room who could hear it with his enhanced senses.

“ _ What do you mean he wasn’t breathing? _ ” a familiar voice yelled.

“ _ Tony, I’m so sorry _ ”, Sam, he guessed, “ _ I definitely didn’t do it on purpose, I just- _ ”

“ _ I really don’t fucking hope you did that in purpose. You had one job, alright? One fucking job. And that was to take care of Peter. And what happens? He falls from the highest ceiling in the goddamn building, breaks his ankle and  _ stops breathing _. You fucking let my kid stop breathing for a whole minute. _ ”

His kid? 

“ _ Sorry _ ”, Sam mumbled. “ _ Tony, I really can not express how sorry I am right now. _ ”

“ _ Well, sorry doesn’t help my kid, does it? _ ”

Again,  _ my kid _ . Peter furrowed his eyebrows, but was too exhausted to think too much about what Tony had just said.

A minute later, while Bruce was getting the x-ray ready, the elevator doors opened and Tony walked out. Peter turned his head to look at him, and saw the anger burning in his eyes. Steve stood up. “Tony, I’m so sorry. This shouldn’t have happened, and I am so, so sorry.”

But Tony ignored him, and just walked straight past him to sit on the bed next to Peter. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m alright”, Peter mumbled, but really wanted nothing more than to go to sleep.

Tony put a hand on his head. “God, your aunt is going to kill me.” Peter chuckled.

After a while they had finished the x-ray, and Bruce had come to the conclusion that his ankle wasn’t broken, just slightly sprained and he only wrapped it in some bandage. But he still forbid Peter from running and jumping for at least three days, and therefore also from going on patrol. Peter would’ve complained but was too tired, which made Tony concerned. 

“Alright Peter”, Bruce said when they were finished. “You should probably go to bed, you look pretty tired.”

Peter forced his eyes opened. “But it’s only 7:30”, he whined.

“And you probably won’t stay awake for another five minutes.” Tony put his arms underneath Peter’s legs and back, carefully lifting him. “Come on, let’s get you to bed.”

Going to bed actually sounded pretty good to Peter, even though he missed out on an evening with the Avengers, and relaxed in Tony’s arms and leaned his head against his shoulder.

They all got into the elevator, and when they reached the common room everyone except Tony and Peter got out. “Am I not going to sleep in my room?” Peter mumbled.

“Yes, you are, but your room is in my suite.”

Peter looked up at him. “Really?”

Tony smiled and nodded. “So say goodnight to everyone.”

Peter waved and said goodnight, getting a similar response from everyone.

The elevator doors closed and took them to Tony’s suite, which was pretty similar to the common room, except a little smaller. Tony walked into the hallway, still carrying Peter in his arms. He opened the second door to the right and went straight to the bed, not bothering to turn the lights on. After he’d tucked Peter in and laid his foot on a pillow he sat down on the bed next to him. “Just tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. if you need me or anything else, okay? I’ll go pick up your aunt in a few hours, and I’ll stay in the suite until then.”

Peter nodded, his eyes slipping close. He felt Tony put a hand in his hair. “Goodnight, Peter. I’m sorry this wasn’t exactly the sleepover you’d imagined.”

Peter smiled. “That’s okay, at least it’ll be memorable. Goodnight, Tony.”

Tony ruffled his hair once and stood up. “I’ll wake you up at 5:30 tomorrow, alright?”

Peter nodded. Tony walked out of the room, carefully shutting the door behind him.

Peter fell asleep almost immediately, dreaming about Tony holding him close and calling him  _ my kid _ . 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A few of you guys have told me that you want Tony, Peter and May to move into the tower. What do you think about that? (Again, no voting or anything like that, just looking for some inspiration ;))  
> See you next time!


	12. Mom and Dad

Peter was woken up by someone gathering him in their arms and pulling him to their chest. He was very confused for a moment, but then the memories of his nightmare came flooding back. He then also realised how much he was crying and gasping.

“It’s okay”, Tony mumbled, tightening his grip around Peter. “It’s okay, Peter. I’ve got you.”

Peter shut his eyes and pressed himself closer, crying into Tony’s shirt. The images of all the Avengers, this time including Tony and May, laying dead on the ground kept replaying in his head over and over again. He gasped deeply and felt Tony’s shirt getting wet and hot with his tears.

Tony moved one of his hands from Peter’s back to the back of his head. “It’s okay Peter, I’m here. You have to slow your breathing.”

He took a few deep breaths to compose himself, the flood of tears starting to slow down. He kept his head against Tony’s chest as he breathed slowly and sniffled. Tony started rubbing his back slightly. “You’re okay, it was just a nightmare.”

“Is M-May here?”

“No, she’s still at work. Do you want her? I could go get her if you want.”

“N-no that’s f-fine.”

“Okay”, Tony mumbled, leaning his cheek against the top of Peter’s head. They stayed like that for a moment before he spoke again. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

Peter shook his head. 

“Are you sure? I might help to talk about it.”

“My foot hurts”, Peter mumbled. Tony loosened his grip on him to turn around and saw that he had accidentally knocked his foot off the pillow he’d propped it up on. With his left arm still around Peter he grabbed his calf and carefully lifted it up on the pillow again. He turned back to Peter. “I’m picking up your aunt in half an hour, do you want her to sleep in here?”

Peter shook his head, wiping across his cheek with the heel of his palm. “No, it’s okay.”

Tony nodded. He looked a bit uncertain for a moment before wrapping his right arm around Peter and pulling him into a tight hug. Peter didn’t hesitate to put his arms around him and hug him back, pressing his face against his chest again. 

They stayed like that for so long that Peter started to doze off again, only waking up for a moment when Tony carefully lay him down, brushed a hand across his forehead and left the room. Tony comforting him had really helped, and he fell asleep again with a smile and warmth in his chest, the nightmare almost completely erased from his memory for the moment. 

 

-

 

Tony had been hiding in his suite since putting Peter to bed, purposely avoiding the rest of the Avengers. But now it was time to go pick up May from her work, and he really didn’t want to leave the tower without his phone, which he had left in the common room after yelling at Sam. F.R.I.D.A.Y. would answer his calls for him from his suite, but outside the tower he could only access her with his phone. 

He stepped out of the elevator and quickly made his way to the kitchen island where his phone lay, but stopped in his tracks when he saw Steve leaning against the counter with a glass of water in his hand. 

They looked at each other for a moment before Steve cleared his throat and put the glass down on the counter. “Trouble sleeping?”

Tony just stared at him, barely blinking. 

Steve inhaled. “Oh, right, you’re picking up May.”

Tony kept staring. 

Steve sighed and ran a hand over his face. “Tony, I… I can’t explain how sorry I am. I was supposed to take care of Peter, and I take full responsibility for his accident.”

“I’m not mad about the accident.”

Steve raised an eyebrow. “You’re not?”

“Nope. What I’m fucking pissed about though, is the fact that you  _ took away his suit _ . I told you what happened the last time I took away his suit, Steve, and how fucking awful I felt. I gave him the suit to keep him safe, and taking it away from him kind of fucks up that function, doesn’t it?”

Steve opened his mouth, then closed it. He furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, there’s a difference between trying to take down a villain and training with your teammates, isn’t it?”

Tony glared at him. “Not if that teammate is fighting him and he isn’t used to that without his suit.”

“Then maybe we should teach him to fight without the suit by taking it away from him.”

Tony’s eye twitched. Was Steve really able to take the suit away from Peter that easily without thinking about the consequences, especially after what had  _ just _ happened?

“So let me get this straight; you want to teach Peter to be safe by taking away the thing that keeps him safe?”

Steve shrugged. “Sometimes you’ve got to push the bird out of the nest for it to learn how to fly.”

Tony closed his eyes and breathed deeply, clenching his fists. “I don’t have time for this right now, Steve.”

He walked past him, grabbed his phone off the kitchen island and went to the elevator. Before pushing the button he turned to Steve. “If you hurt my kid again, I’ll make you regret it.”

The doors closed, but not before Tony could see the look of shame on Steve’s face. 

 

-

 

“Hey, honey”, May said with a smile as she slid into the passenger seat. She leaned in and pressed her lips softly against Tony’s, cupping his cheek with her hand. “Thank you for picking me up.”

“Of course”, he said when she pulled away. He started the car and drove off.

It was quiet for a while, and he could only make out her face in the dim light from the road. “You know, you don’t have to work this late if you don’t want to.” He glanced at her. “In fact, you don’t have to work at all.”

She sighed and placed her hand on his, the one on top of the gear shift, and started rubbing her thumb against his skin gently. “We’ve talked about this before”, she said after a moment of silence. 

“I know, it’s just… kind of hard seeing you being up this late working when you don’t have to.”

May looked at him and squeezed his hand. “Maybe if we move in together I’ll consider it, but not right now. I like having something to do during the days, and you know that I actually like my job.”

“I know you do, and I understand that.” He turned his hand around and intertwined their fingers. “But do you really like having to work extra shifts? Working until midnight and on weekends? Maybe I could just help a little, at least so that you only have to work as much as a normal person does.”

May lifted their intertwined hands and kissed the back of his. “Thank you, but I’m okay. Really.”

He looked at her for a beat. “Just promise you’ll tell me if you get too stressed to handle it, or even enjoy it, alright?”

She smiled at him. “I promise. And I also promise that I’ll let you help me then, but I’m hoping that we’ve moved in together before that happens.”

He smiled back at her. “Yeah, I hope so too.”

He looked back at the road and it went silent again. Tony knew that he had to tell May what had happened during the day before they reached the tower, but didn’t really know how without making her freak out.

“So how’s Peter?” she asked after a couple of minutes. Tony was partly happy that he didn’t have to bring up the subject himself, partly stressed because he hadn’t really decided what to tell her yet. “Were you able to put him to bed at ten? Or at least before eleven?”

He cleared his throat, purposely avoiding her gaze. “Yeah, uhm, about Peter.” He saw May immediately tense up in his peripheral vision.  “Something happened today.”

“What happened?” May said, voice strained. “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, it’s not that serious, but uh, there was an accident during his training.”

May grabbed his forearm firmly. “What kind of an accident? Is he awake?”

“Oh yeah, of course he is!” He freed himself from her grasp and grabbed her hand, squeezing comfortably. “Well, he is asleep, but not because of the accident. He fell in the gym and sprained his ankle.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “From where did he fall?”

“Uh, the ceiling.”

May exhaled. “How?”

Tony gritted his teeth. “Steve took away his suit and webshooters.”

She stared at him and breathed deeply.

He relaxed with a sigh and intertwined their fingers again. “Don’t worry, it won’t ever happen again.”

May looked down at their connected hands. “Did something else happen to him?”

“Well, he got the air knocked out of him, but he was okay.”

She nodded, still looking down at their hands.

The rest of the ride went in silence, and after a couple of minutes they pulled up at the tower. Tony turned off the engine, but none of them made any indication to move. They kept their fingers intertwined, and after a minute Tony took a deep, shuddering breath.

“I’m sorry”, he whispered, but it sounded louder in the car’s silence and darkness.

May looked up at him, and he met her gaze. “Sorry about what?”

“That I keep fucking up with Peter.” He looked down at their hands, squeezing hers softly. “I dragged him into this when I walked into your apartment all those months ago, and it’s my responsibility to keep him safe, which I haven’t done very well. First there was the Vulture, and just these past couple of days he’s gotten hurt twice.”

“Tony.” May grabbed his chin and lifted it, forcing him to meet her gaze. “None of this is you fault, okay? He would’ve still been Spider-Man even without you, and he would’ve gotten so much more hurt. You’ve done so much for him, and I’m extremely thankful for that.”

He looked at her for a moment and lifted his hand to cup her cheek. She leaned into his touch. They stayed like that for a moment before Tony sighed, withdrawing his hand and straightening. “He had a nightmare earlier.”

“He did?”

“Yeah. And I- … I don’t know, I just feel like it must have something to do with what he’s experienced as Spider-Man, like the Vulture. You’ve told me that he’s had a lot of nightmares lately, and it has to be connected somehow.”

May grabbed his upper arm and stroked her thumb over his sleeve. “He has experienced other traumatic things, you know.”

Tony looked at her. “Yeah, I know. And these things he’s been going through lately hasn’t really helped.”

May sighed and leaned her head against his shoulder, and Tony leaned his cheek on top of her head. “You have to stop being so hard on yourself, Tony.”

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I just want Peter to be okay.”

She squeezed his hand. “Yeah, so do I. So what happened when he had his nightmare?”

“Well, I was watching TV in the living room when I suddenly heard him screaming, which scared the shit out of me. I thought he had gotten hurt, so I ran into his room and grabbed him, but then he woke up and I realised that it was just a nightmare.” 

“Did you calm him down?”

“Yeah, I comforted him until he stopped crying and fell asleep.”

She lifted her head and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “And how long did that take?”

“I don’t know, about twenty minutes?”

She kept staring at him. “When he has a nightmare at home it takes at least an hour just to make him stop crying.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah.” She smiled slightly. “He must be getting more comfortable around you.”

He huffed out a laugh. “Well, I hope so.”

They stayed in the car for a minute, holding hands in silence. Eventually May took a deep breath and let go of Tony’s hand, smiling at him. “Let’s get to bed, shall we? It’s been a pretty long day.”

They made their way to Tony’s suite, but when he opened the door to their bedroom May stopped and glanced at the door to their left. Tony followed her gaze. “Do you want to check in on him?”

May nodded and, to Tony’s surprised, grabbed his hand as she made her way to Peter’s bedroom. She carefully opened the door and slowly walked over to his bed without turning the lights on, Tony walking behind her. Peter was laying on his back with his foot still propped up on the pillow and an armed draped over his face. May leaned over him and brushed the hair from his eyes, which made him sigh, take away his arm and tiredly blink up at her. “Oh, I’m sorry for waking you up sweety.”

He sighed again and closed his eyes. “‘s okay”, he muttered. “Tony picked you up?”

“Yeah, he’s here as well.”

Tony leaned over him. “Hey, kid. How are you feeling?”

Peter just hummed and turned his head to the side.

May leaned down and pressed a kiss to his temple. “Goodnight, honey.”

“Goodnight, mom and dad.”

Both May and Tony froze, turning to stare at each other. Peter started snoring slightly, already drifting off to sleep. 

“Did he just…?” May whispered.

Tony nodded. “Has he ever…?”

“No, not in years. And I’m guessing he’s never…”

He shook his head. They both turned their heads to Peter again. Tony leaned forward and put his hand over May’s, which was resting on Peter’s arm. When he started stirring again they decided to let him sleep and went to their own room.

“Well, I’m never forgetting  _ that _ ”, Tony said when May came out of the bathroom dressed in her pyjamas. He pulled off his shirt and pants, putting on a pair of sweats. May sat down on the bed next to him. “What do you think it means?”

“Well, I don’t think he really meant it literally, but maybe he’s been seeing us in that way lately?”

Tony nodded and put his arm around May. “And how do you feel about that?”

She put her hand on his thigh and leaned into his chest. “Him calling me mom isn’t really something new, he used to do that from time to time when he was younger until deciding on just calling me ‘aunt’. But him calling us that together … I kind of like it.”

Tony squeezed her shoulder. “If it means that he accepts the idea of us together, then so do I.”

May lifted her head and looked at him. “And what if it means something more than that?”

He moved his hand from her shoulder to her face, cupping her cheek and stroking his thumb against her skin. It was quiet for a moment before he took a deep breath. “Then I’ll still like it.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I probably won't be able to post for at least a week, because Monday through Friday I'm going on a school trip to Spain. I promise I'll write as soon as I get home, and maybe even a little while I'm there if I have time.  
> See ya next time!


	13. Weird noise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: very short chapter ahead! I just wanted to post something to let you guys know that I am back, and I had a really good time in Spain :) I'm going away AGAIN on Thursday to Norway and I'll probably be back again on Monday, but I think I'll still have time to write and post, so hopefully I'll post something longer again this week. Enjoy! (even though it's very short lol)

Peter felt himself slowly return to consciousness, his dreams which he had already forgotten drifting away. He groaned and turned his head to the side into the pillow when he felt how groggy and a bit dizzy he was. 

He opened his eyes and was met with pitch black darkness. He was confused for a second, since there was always at least some light making its way through his blinds, before the memories of yesterday came back to him. And then his dreams starting coming back to him as well.

He’d had many dreams that night, though not all of them were very clear to him. The first one he remembered was the nightmare before Tony came in. God, he was still embarrassed that he’d cried so loudly in his sleep that Tony had heard him.

Then when he’d fallen asleep again he dreamt about him, May and Tony being a family. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that dream; he started getting them pretty much right after he found out they were together. Peter thought they were very nice dreams.

Then he remembered one dream that was way clearer than the other ones. Tony and May were putting him to bed and he called them mom and dad, which wasn’t weird because that’s what they were in his dream. But the weird thing was that after he’d said it it became dark and then another, less clear dream about something he didn’t really remembered appeared. 

He started to get a bit uncomfortable in the pitch black darkness so he tried reaching for his phone on the nightstand, but stopped abruptly when he felt his foot throb. He tried moving it but pain flared up in his ankle, making him whine. 

With the darkness in the unfamiliar room and not being able to move he started panicking a bit, and he did the only thing he knew to do in that situation; call on his aunt.

“May?” he said, a bit hesitantly. No answer. 

“May”, he called out a bit louder. Still no answer.

He put his hands flat on the mattress and pushed himself up, careful to not have his foot fall off the pillow. “Tony?” he called out.

He suddenly became aware of the low noise coming from the room next to him, and when he called on his aunt a third time it completely stopped for a moment before turning into low mumbling.

“ _ It’s Peter _ ”, he heard his aunt say.

“ _ Shit _ ”, Tony said back. “ _ Do you think he woke up from…? _ ”

“ _ Gosh, I don’t hope so. I thought we were pretty quiet, even for him. _ ” 

“ _ You think you’re up to checking in on him? You look a bit… _ ”

A sigh. “ _ Yes, Tony, I know. And it’s all because you just had to do that thing, even though I alwa- oh, wipe that smug look of your face. _ ”

“ _ I’m just not used to hearing you complain when I do that thing. _ ”

“ _ Just hand me my shirt, please. _ ”

Peter lay back on his mattress and groaned at the conversation he’d just overheard. Well, at least he was glad he hadn’t heard them while they were… uh, yeah.

His bedroom door opened slightly and he closed his eyes when the light from the hallway hit his face. He blinked for a few seconds before being able to see properly, and watched his aunt walk up to his bed, sitting down next him. “Hey, sweetie”, she said, brushing away the hair that had fallen over his eyes and left her hand on his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. Uh, sorry I called on you, I just… It was so dark and I couldn’t reach my phone.”

“That’s alright, honey. Why couldn’t you reach your phone?”

He glanced down. “My foot still hurts a little.”

She followed his gaze and frowned. “Really? I thought it should’ve healed by now.”

She put her hand on his calf just above his ankle and watched him for any signs of discomfort as she gently squeezed, but his face stayed neutral. “That doesn’t really hurt”, he said. “It must’ve healed some at least.”

May nodded and carefully lay his foot back on top of the pillows. “There’s still a few hours left until you have to get up, and hopefully it’ll heal some more until then.”

“Huh, what time is it?”

“About 2:30.”

“Oh.” 

“Yeah, so why don’t you try going back to sleep, sweetie?” May said and stroke his cheek. “I’ll wake you up for school in the morning.”

Peter already felt his eyelids getting heavy again. “Yeah, sure. Goodnight May.”

She pinched his cheek lightly. “Goodnight Peter.”

“Can you leave the door open a little?” Peter mumbled. “I don’t want it to be so dark.”

“Of course.”

By the time May had left the room Peter was already drifting off to sleep for the fourth time that night, and just before falling asleep he realised that May hadn’t given him a kiss which she always did when putting him to bed. He frowned and groaned, and then gave into unconsciousness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, hopefully I'll be able to post again this week, probably a longer chapter about Peter, Ned and MJ's sleepover ;)  
> See ya next time!
> 
> Btw, in case you guys haven't noticed, I think I prefer to upload shorter chapters frequently instead of one long once or every second week. I just like to keep you guys updated, and I hope that's alright with you :)


	14. Crutches

“Peter.” He felt a hand brush across his forehead, pulling him out of his unconscious state. “It’s time to wake up, kid.” It was Tony.

The supporting weight on his forehead felt nice, grounding, and he kept his eyes closed even as he had fully returned to consciousness. The thumb started rubbing the skin above his eyebrow gently, which probably was an attempt to wake him up but only made him want to drift off to sleep again even more. “Come on now, get up.”

“But my foot hurts”, Peter mumbled. It technically wasn’t a lie since he didn’t know how his foot felt yet. The contact just felt so good and warming that he didn’t want to get up yet.

Tony hummed. “Then I might have to bring that wheelchair in.”

Peter opened his eyes and stared at Tony, who sat next to him on the bed. “Wheelchair?”

“Well, if your foot hurts so much that you can’t even sit up you probably can’t walk either, right?”

Peter immediately pushed himself up and swung his legs over the edge of the bed to put them on the ground. When he was about to stand up Tony put a hand on his chest. “Easy there, tiger. I was just kidding about the wheelchair.”

Peter let out a sigh of relief.

“But you do need to use crutches.” He gestured at the corner of the room where a pair of crutches was propped up against the wall. Peter groaned. “And try to carefully put some weight on your foot while sitting down before you start walking around, okay?”

Peter rolled his eyes but did as he was told. He pressed his foot down against the rug and only felt a very small twinge. “Yeah, that feels fine. Can I stand up now?”

Tony eyed him for a moment before nodding hesitantly, moving his hand from Peter’s chest to his upper arm.

Peter looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “I can stand up by myself, you know.”

“Just some support”, Tony said as he stood up.

Peter rolled his eyes again as he pushed himself off the mattress. “That’s really unnecessary”, he muttered. Tony ignored him and kept his grip on his arm.

Once standing his foot only hurt slightly more but it was definitely bearable, but when he tried taking a step he stumbled from the sharp twinge and Tony grabbed both his shoulders to keep him upright. “You okay?” he asked, the worry clear in his voice.

Peter cleared his throat as he straightened, putting most of his weight on his left, healthy foot. “Yeah yeah, I’m fine.”

Tony, obviously ignoring him, pushed him down on the mattress again against Peter’s protests and went to grab the crutches. “You’re a horrible liar, kid. Always have, always will be. Here, try these.”

Peter let out a sigh of defeat as he grabbed the crutches and stood up.

“Now try walking around.”

Peter felt awkward trying to put as little weight as possible on the crutches while still having to lean on them at least a little bit. He heard Tony chuckle at the sight. “Believe me kid, you look way dumber trying to avoid the crutches than if you used them properly.”

Peter glared at him for a moment before giving in and fully leaning against the crutches, only putting weight on his left foot. Huh. It _was_ kind of relieving, actually.

“I’m gonna go make some breakfast, how about you come out after you’ve gotten ready?”

Peter nodded. “Sure, thanks. Uh, where’s the bathroom?”

He was surprised when Tony pointed to something behind him. He turned around and saw a door he’d thought was just a closet or something. “I have my own bathroom?” he asked, turning around again.

“Every room in my suite has its own bathroom”, he said with a shrug before walking out.

After taking a shower (which had been pretty difficult, since he had to mostly balance on one foot) he started digging through the bag of clothes Tony had gotten from his apartment yesterday after he’d found out Peter and May would spend the night. He was very thankful for it, even though it meant that he had most likely seen his big amount of IronMan t-shirts while digging through his drawers.

Peter started getting a bit worried about choosing a good outfit for the night when Ned and - more importantly - MJ were coming over, and also spending the night. He wanted to wear something nice, but still casual, and not look like he was trying too much, even though he totally was. He knew he had a lot of good outfits at home, but he definitely didn’t want MJ to realise that he had changed outfits after coming home from school, because he had no doubts that she would tease him about that.

He decided on a grey sweater with rolled up sleeves and a white t-shirt underneath, and a pair of beige khakis. It was a nice look, but not nice enough for MJ to make fun of him. Hopefully.

Thankfully his swelling had gone down enough for him to be able to put on shoes, and then he hopped out of his room. 

He went to the kitchen on his crutches and found Tony sitting at the table with a box of cereals and a carton of milk.

“When you said breakfast I thought you meant something fancier like pancakes or eggs and bacon”, Peter joked as he sat across from the older man, pouring himself his own bowl.

Tony huffed, but smirked. “I ain’t running a bed and breakfast, kid.”

After a minute of small talk and eating Peter finally realised something. “Hey, where’s May?”

“They called her in for an early shift this morning”, he said, with a face that showed as much frustration as Peter felt. “I dropped her off on hour ago.”

“When did they call her?” Peter asked, eyebrows furrowing.

“An hour before she had to be there”, Tony answered, basically spitting the words out.

“Do they have the right to do that?”

Tony sighed. “I think they do, since she had the right to say no. But you know your aunt; she’ll never say no to work.”

Peter did know that, and it had bothered him for years. He knew that she’d had a hard time providing for them these last few years and had to accept every opportunity to work. He wondered if Tony maybe wasn’t helping her out a little, but realised soon that she would probably never accept that.

“We have to leave in five, kid”, Tony said, snapping Peter out of his thoughts. He leaned over the table and grabbed Peter’s empty bowl and spoon. “Go grab your stuff and I’ll clean up here.”

30 minutes later they were parked outside of Peter’s school, at 7:45. Peter started undoing his belt and thanked Tony for the ride when the man put a hand on his shoulder. He rolled his eyes. “Yes, Tony, I _will_ use the crutches all day. I’ve already promised you that.”

Tony smirked. “That wasn’t what I was going to say, but good. No, I actually wanted to talk to you about tonight. You know, with the sleepover and stuff.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Yeah?”

“So May and I were supposed to go to dinner tonight to leave you guys alone for the evening, right? Well, that’s not happening anymore.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “W-what do you-?”

Tony held up a hand. “Let me finish, kid, before you get a stroke or something. We’re not going to dinner, but instead we’re spending the night at the tower again.”

“‘We’?”

“Your aunt and I”, Tony clarified. “Meaning we won’t come home until tomorrow morning.”

Peter’s eyes widened again, this time for a different reason. “We’re having the apartment for ourselves all night?”

“You sure are”, he said with a smile. “As long as you behave”, he added with a more serious tone.

Peter nodded. “Yeah, of course! We’ll- uh, I- … _thank you_ , Mr- uhm, Tony.”

Tony chuckled at his stammering. “Thank your aunt, it was her idea. She said it was time to let you prove that you’re a responsible young man, but I don’t doubt that the fact that she doesn’t want to take care of three teenagers is part of the reason too. And I’d lie if I said that I haven’t noticed how much your girlfriend hates me.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “She’s _not_ my girlfriend! And yeah, she does kind of hate you.”

“Just be quiet tonight, alright? You don’t want Ned to be traumatized.”

Peter groaned and put his face in his hands.

Tony laughed, but stopped when he looked out Peter’s window. “Well, speak of the devil…”

Peter lifted and turned his head to see a very familiar, tall girl walking toward them. He felt his heartbeat quicken as she knocked on his window, and he rolled it down. She leaned against the frame with crossed arms and shot Tony a glare before looking at Peter. “You know we start in five minutes, right?”

“Uh…” Peter looked down at the phone in his lap, which showed 7:54. “Oh.”

“Well, we do. So hurry up.” She took a step back and opened his door.

While Peter was clumsily undoing his belt ( _of course_ he did while she was waiting for him) Tony leaned closer to him and whispered “You know she’s been waiting for you at the steps since we arrived, right?”

Peter turned to glare at him. “Why didn’t you say anything? It’s not nice to let her wait like that!”

Tony just grinned. “I wanted to see if she would come down or not. I’m honestly surprised she did. Her love for you must outweigh her hate for me.”

Peter rolled his eyes and felt his cheeks getting hot. He mumbled a quick _thank you for the ride_ , and then grabbed his crutches and put them on the ground to heave himself out of the car.

When he’d managed to found his balance after standing up he looked up at MJ, and was surprised to see something that looked like concern on her face, but it was gone in a second. “Dude, what happened to you?” she nodded at his crutches with an arched eyebrow.

“I, uh…” Shit, he hadn’t come up with an excuse to those who didn’t know about his ‘double life’.

MJ stared at him expectantly, waiting for an answer.

“I, uhm, tripped while walking up the stairs in the tower? Tall building, you know. Lots of stairs. Yep.”

MJ looked at him skeptically, but probably decided to let it go when they heard the first bell ring. Peter started walking, but stumble when he accidentally put some weight on his right foot. MJ was quick to grab his shoulder and chest, which momentarily made Peter forget about the pain in his ankle.

“Are you okay?” she asked as she quickly withdrew her hands and put them behind her back.

“Uh yeah, I’m fine.” He felt another blush starting to spread across his whole face as he straightened again. “Thanks.”

They suddenly heard a car honk loudly behind them, and they turned around to see Tony drive past them with the window rolled down, forming a heart with his hands and winking at them before driving off.

Peter rolled his eyes and felt his face get even hotter, and when MJ turned her face back forward he saw that her cheeks red as well.

He raised an eyebrow and smirked. “Hey, MJ, are you _blushing_?”

She turned to him with a glare and, as if she could control it, her blush was gone. “Of course not.”

Peter started grinning. “Tony Stark made you blush.”

“He did _not_.”

Peter let out a laugh and they started walking, MJ ignoring him with a pout.

Even though Peter had super strength and was very smooth in his movement, walking on crutches was something new and unnatural to him and he had a hard time keeping up with MJ’s fast pace. Right before they reached the steps she stopped and rolled her eyes. “Oh, _lord_.” She then walked over to Peter’s right side, yanked the crutch from him, wrapped her arm around his waist and basically started _carrying_ him. Peter was so shocked at first that he forget to put some weight on his left foot, but she still had no problem walking up the steps with him under her arm.

When they reached his locker she finally let go of him. Since class started in two minutes the hallway was empty, so thankfully no one had seen them. Peter stared at her with wide eyes. “Wow, you’re, um, like _really_ strong.”

MJ just shrugged. “You have to be strong to survive as a girl today.” She nodded at his locker. “Hurry up and get your stuff. I gotta get to my class now, you sure you can make it to yours without falling?”

Peter rolled his eyes but smiled. “Yeah, I’m fine. Thank you though. For helping me, I mean.”

She smiled back. “Oh, I didn’t do it for you, I just wanted to show off my strength.”

Peter laughed. “Why am I not surprised?”

She turned to walk to her class, but stopped abruptly after a few steps and turned back around. “By the way, I have to work on a school project in the library during lunch break, so I’m eating there instead of in the cafeteria. And since we don’t have any classes together today, I guess I’ll see you at your apartment tonight?”

Peter nodded, and felt something that could only be described as butterflies in his stomach at those words. “Yeah. Uh, at 6 right?”

She gave Peter that half-smile and nodded before walking toward her class.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve realised that I end a lot of my chapters with MJ walking away from Peter lol.  
> I hope you liked this chapter! If you did, please leave a comment ;) (again, I’m OBSESSED with reading you guys’ comments <3)  
> See you next time! Which will be at the sleepover ;)


	15. Sleepover (part one)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter two days after I last posted? And it's over 3k long?! My little easter gift to you guys ;)

Peter anxiously paced back and forth in the apartment living room. Well, as much as he could with a sprained ankle, even though it had started to feel better.

He looked down at his phone again for probably the twentieth time in the last ten minutes.  _ 5:56 _ . Ned and MJ would arrive in less than five minutes.

He had prepared the coffee table with bowls of snacks, cups for the soda MJ would bring and DVDs of all the Star Wars movies. May and Tony had stopped by half an hour ago to get some more stuff since May was spending the night at the tower again, and also to remind him to behave and clean up after them because they didn’t want to come home to a complete mess. Peter had rolled his eyes and fought the urge to respond  _ yes, mom and dad _ . 

He looked down at his phone again.  _ 5:58 _ . 

To say that he was nervous would be an understatement. MJ would actually  _ be in his apartment _ , and  _ staying the night _ ,  _ sleeping on his couch _ . He had already picked out the bedding and put them on a chair in the living room so that he could prepare the couch for her as soon as she wanted to go to bed. 

He still wore the outfit he’d worn at school, though he had considered changing into something more casual ever since he came home, but he was scared that MJ would notice and maybe realise how hard he was trying to dress properly. But wasn’t it weirder to wear khakis at home in the evening? Most people, including Peter, usually changed to sweats the minute they got ho-

Peter’s phone buzzed in his hands, and he immediately looked down and unlocked it. It was a text from Ned.

_ Hey dude _

_ I’m really sorry but I can’t come tonight _

Peter could’ve sworn his heart stopped for a moment.

_ Are you serious? _

_ My grandma just came over and my parents hadn’t told me and I have to stay home  _

_ I’m so sorry! _

_ It’s fine, but now I’m going to be alone with MJ! _

_ Oh I’m sure you won’t mind that ;) _

_ But she will _

Peter groaned as he put his phone back in his pocket. He wasn’t mad at Ned at all, he understood why he had to stay at home, but there was no way MJ would want to be alone with him the whole evening and night. 

There was a knock on the door, and Peter slumped his shoulders as he walked across the apartment, his nervousness now replaced with dejection.

He opened the door and was met with a smiling MJ, and his heart clenched at the thought of not getting to spend the evening with her anymore.

“Hey”, he croaked, and cleared his throat. “Um, listen, Ned can’t come so, uh, I get it if you don’t want to stay here. It’s fine.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “Why can’t he come?”

“His grandma was coming over, and his parents wanted him to stay home. And again, I get it if you don’t want to hang out just the two of us. We can call raincheck and hang out all three some other time.”

MJ just rolled her eyes and brushed past him, plopping down on the couch. “Please, Peter, I think we can hang out without it becoming unbearably awkward.” She put her backpack on the floor, pulled out two bottles of soda and put it on the table. “Although I am a bit worried about how I’m going to survive without Ned’s present.”

Peter laughed and sat down on the other end of the couch. “Don’t worry, he may not be with us physically, but he’ll always be with us in our hearts.”

MJ snorted and took a handful of chips from one of the bowls. 

It went quiet for a minute before MJ spoke again. “So what do you have planned for tonight? I hope we’re not just going to sit here all night eating junk food in silence.”

Peter nodded to the coffee table. “Well, uh, I brought out some Star Wars movies for us to watch.”

MJ looked at him and arched an eyebrow. “That’s all you’ve got planned?”

Peter shrugged.

“That’s so lame.”

“Well, it’s all Ned and I do on our sleepovers.”

MJ sighed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. It’s a good thing I come prepared.”

Now it was Peter’s time to raise an eyebrow as MJ opened her bag and pulled out a clear glass bottle. After a minute of inspecting it his eyes widened.

“Is… is that  _ vodka _ ?”

“Sure is. I stole it from my brother Darnell’s room when he was passed out after one of his home parties about a month ago. It’s still like half full.”

When Peter didn’t respond she looked back at him and furrowed her brows slightly. “I mean, we don’t have to if you’re not comfortable with it.”

“No, it’s not that. I’m just… uh, don’t you think May and Tony will find out? They’ll kill me if they do.”

“Well, they’re not coming home until tomorrow, right? We can just throw it out somewhere far from here later tonight when we’re finished, and if we just brush our teeth thoroughly and leave the windows opened for an hour or so they won’t notice anything.”

Peter huffed out a laugh. “It sounds like you’ve done this before.”

She gave him that half-smile. “Darnell throws  _ a lot _ of parties, and when he’s passed out he never notices if I take a bottle or a can or something.”

“Don’t your parents ever notice?”

“Nope. And if they do, they probably just assume it’s Darnell.”

“Huh.” Peter looked back at the botte in MJ’s hand. He was a bit nervous since he’d never drunk alcohol in his life, and apparently she had. How easily would he get drunk? Would he get a hangover that Tony and May would notice?

MJ shook the half full bottle slightly. “You wanna try it? We don’t have to drink that much, just try a sip.”

Peter bit his lip and nodded. He knew that he would try alcohol some time, and being with MJ his first time wasn’t exactly the worst scenario he could imagine.

“Yeah, sure.”

“Alright, we should probably mix it with some soda.” She put the bottle down on the coffee table and filled two cups with Fanta. She then poured in a small amount of vodka and handed one of them to Peter. “Bottoms up.”

He looked at it for a moment before taking a small sip. Hm, it wasn’t that bad actually.

“It’s not too bad”, he said after taking a second sip. He looked up and saw that MJ had already finished half her cup. She rolled her eyes.

“Duh, I put like a tablespoon in there. When you’re done with that one I’m making it stronger.” She then downed the rest of her cup in a few seconds.

Peter took a few more, longer sips, and even though he could taste the strong alcohol he had no problems finishing the rest of it. He put it down on the coffee table and grinned at MJ.

She grinned back. “Good job, Parker.”

“So, uh, how long does it take to get drunk?”

She arched an eyebrow, but her grin didn’t fade. “Do you want to get drunk?”

He hesitated. He knew that getting drunk would be extremely irresponsible and he’d break May’s rules, but on the other hand he knew that he’s going to do this sooner or later and doing it in his apartment was better than at some random party, right?

He huffed and shrugged. “Why not?”

Her grin grew and she immediately started refilling their cups. “Alright, but if we’re going to get drunk we can’t just drink normally, because that’s sad. We have to play some kind of drinking game instead.”

Peter eyed her skeptically as she filled the cups with half soda, half vodka. “What kind of drinking game?”

She handed him his cup. “Do you know ‘never have I ever’?”

He shook his head. “I’ve heard about it, but I don’t know what it is.”

“Okay, so one of us says something they’ve never done, and if the other person has done it they have to take a sip, alright?”

Peter nodded, and he saw this as an opportunity to find out more about MJ, and perhaps get to know her better. “Let’s do it.”

“Actually, let’s sit on the carpet”, MJ said, plopping down on the floor between the couch and the coffee table. “That way we can see each other better.”

Peter sat down in front of her, and when she’d scooted forward to pick up her cup from the table she didn’t move back, and they were sitting so close that their legs and knees were touching.

“Alright, you’ll start. And remember that you have to start every sentence with ‘never have I ever’.”

Peter nodded. “Okay, uhm… never have I ever… cheated on a test.”

MJ rolled her eyes. “Come on Peter, we’re not in the sixth grade drinking Kool-Aid. It has to be dirtier than that.”

Peter bit his lip. “Okay, uhh… Never have I ever kissed someone?”

MJ arched an eyebrow as she put her cup to her lips and took a big gulp. “Really? You never kissed Liz? Or at least someone in middle school?”

Peter shook his head. “Nope. Uh, who did you kiss?” He begged that it wasn’t someone recently.

She shrugged. “Some guy in fifth grade, as a dare by a friend. I don’t remember his name.”

“Oh, okay”, Peter said, trying to hide how relieved he was.

“Alright”, MJ said, putting her cup down on the carpet. “Never have I ever had sex.”

Peter got a bit embarrassed by the topic and felt his cheeks getting hot as he shook his head.

“Hmm, I should’ve figured since you’ve never kissed someone. And because you’re… well, you.” She smiled at him to show that she was joking. “Alright, your turn.”

“Um..” He looked around the room trying to find some inspiration to his next question, and when he looked back at MJ it was as if he was struck with the realization of the situation. He was actually sitting alone in his apartment with MJ on a Friday night, her being so close that their legs were touching, and they were drinking alcohol while she asked him if he’d ever had sex. He stared at her beautiful face for a long time, slightly covered with let down curls, until she arched an eyebrow at him. 

“Peter?”

“Uh, yeah, sorry.” He cleared his throat and forced himself to look away. “Uhm, never have I ever gotten a hickey.”

He looked up and saw her taking another big gulp. “This isn’t fun”, she complained as she put her cup down. “You haven’t done anything. You’re too boring.”

Peter huffed out a laugh. “Wow, thank you.”

“I’m the only one who’s going to get drunk. Alright, never have I ever had a best friend named Ned.”

Peter arched an eyebrow at her as he put the cup to his lips, but as soon as he tasted the drink he grimaced. “God, this is way too strong.”

MJ laughed. “Come on, don’t be a pussy. Take a big gulp. And don’t taste it, just let it slide down your throat.”

“Should that one even count? It’s obvious that you’re just trying to get me to drink.”

MJ rolled her eyes. “Just drink it.”

Peter looked down at his cup and then closed his eyes, held his breath and took a big gulp, swallowing it immediately before being able to taste it. He opened his eyes and exhaled, coughing a little bit.

MJ smiled. “See? That wasn’t so bad.”

He looked up at her with a grin.  _ Two can play that game _ . “Alright, my turn. Never have I ever had a big brother named Darnell.”

She huffed out a laugh with a smile and then put the cup to her lips, taking two big gulps. 

“Never have I ever known that my aunt was getting piped by Tony Stark.”

Peter glared at her before taking a deep breath and took a big gulp, which went down much easier this time.

They went back and forth like that until the last drops of vodka were poured into their cups.

“Alright”, MJ said, snorting as she spilled some soda on the carpet. Peter just laughed at her clumsiness, not at all concerned about the mess she was making. “We can’t keep going like this, let’s play truth or dare instead.”

“Okay”, Peter said as he accepted the cup from her. “Should I go first?”

“Yeah, it’s your turn.”

“Alright, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“Hmm.” Peter looked at her for a moment, thinking. “Who gave you the hickey?”

She laughed, spilling some more of her drink on the carpet. “Oh, that was just a friend in ninth grade. None of us had gotten one before, so she gave me one and I gave one back.”

Peter found the image of MJ giving and getting a hickey from another girl incredibly hot, and he tried to think about something else before something really embarrassing happened. Again.

“Truth or dare?”

“Uhh, truth.”

She shook her head. “Nu-uh, you gotta pick dare. Otherwise you’re boring.”

“Hey, you picked truth!”

“But I actually had something juicy to contribute with during ‘never have I ever’, and it’s your turn now.”

He sighed. “Alright, dare.”

“Ask me to give you a hickey.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he caught his breath in his throat. “Uhm, what?”

“Ask me…”, she said, staring him down. “… to give you a hickey.”

“Yeah, I heard, but… what?”

She smiled at him, putting down her cup on the coffee table. “You said you’ve never gotten one before, right?”

“Uhh, yeah, but-”

“So I figured, you know, since we’re already drunk and are going to regret all of this and be awkward on Monday during lunch, let’s just say fuck it and I’ll give you your first hickey, alright?”

Peter stared at her, speechless. Did MJ really want to give him a hickey? Was he going to get a  _ hickey _ from  _ MJ _ ? He tried to come up with a reason as to why that was wrong, but his mind became completely filled with images of having MJ’s lips against his neck. He did know that it was going to be extremely awkward between them on Monday, but  _ fuck _ did he want her to do that.

He cleared his throat. “Uh, could you please give me a hickey, MJ?”

She rolled her eyes dramatically and shrugged. “Well, if you  _ insist _ .”

She then wasted no time in leaning forward, grabbing Peter’s hair, yanking his head to the side and pressing her lips to the side of his neck. Peter caught his breath in his throat as he felt her starting suck on his skin, and he had to fight the urge to moan out loud. He closed his eyes.  _ God _ this felt so fucking good. 

All too soon she let go, but she kept her grip in his hair as she wiped her thumb across his now tender skin. “Wow, you bruise really easily.”

“Really?” Peter said, a bit breathless, and damned himself for it.

“Yeah.” She stayed in that position for a moment before letting go of him and leaning back again. She then silently stared at him with a straight face for a minute.

“Now you have to give me one.”

Peter raised an eyebrow, still a bit breathless and resisting the urge to swipe his fingers across the skin where her lips had just been. “What?”

“Uh, you’ve ever heard of reciprocation?” She cocked her head to the side with an arched eyebrow, as if what she was saying made total sense.

“Yeah, but… why?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, it’s awkward if I’m the only one giving a hickey!”

“And you think it’s going to get less awkward if we make another one?”

She sighed and pulled her curls over one shoulder and pulled her t-shirt down slightly to reveal her collarbone. “Do it here and I can cover it up, alright? Now hurry up before the alcohol leaves our systems and we realise what we’re actually doing.”

The sight of MJ pulling her shirt down for Peter made him forget that there was any downside to this whole thing, and he leaned forward, put his hands on the carpet on either side of her hips, and attached his lips to the skin above her collarbone. He heard her gasp slightly as he started sucking. 

Wow, her skin even  _ tasted _ good. With his nose buried in the crook of her neck he inhaled and marvelled at her scent, and he felt her shiver as he exhaled onto her skin.

After a moment he figured that the hickey was done since he’d been doing it longer than she had, but he didn’t want this moment to end yet. When he detached his lips, instead of leaning back again he just opened his mouth wider and took in an even bigger part of her skin between his lips. He waited for her to push him away or even scold at him, but she just moved her hand to his head, threaded her fingers in his hair and pressed him closer to her, and he swore he could hear her moan… 

Suddenly the door flew open, making both of them jump. Peter quickly straightened, his lips leaving MJ’s skin with a loud  _ smack _ and turned around to see who it was.

May stood in the hallway, eyes wide and with an equally wide smile on her lips. “Oh, I didn’t mean to, uh, disturb you, but I forgot my wallet and just came by to pick it up. I called you, Peter, but you didn’t answer.”

“May”, Peter breathed and desperately scooted farther away from MJ until he hit the coffee table. “We weren’t… I mean, I wasn’t…”

What was he supposed to say? That he wasn’t just sucking on MJ’s skin with her hand in his hair? Because, well, he was. 

“Oh, it’s okay!” she reassured with a smile, quickly snatching her wallet from the counter next to the door. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. Have fun!”

She shut the door, and apart from the echo of it being closed it was completely silent in the apartment. 

Peter looked over at MJ, who stared back at him with a straight face. Her shirt was still pulled down, revealing a hickey twice as big as the one on Peter’s neck. 

He sighed, closed his eyes and leaned back against the coffee table. The moment had passed, and the realization of what they were doing kicked in. He didn’t enjoy it any less, but he became aware of the consequences this would give. He sat still with his eyes closed, waiting for the sound of MJ getting up and leaving, but it stayed silent. 

After a minute MJ cleared her throat, and Peter opened his eyes to look at her. 

“So… what are we going to do now?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ohh, it's getting steamy in here ;)  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, even though it kind of ended with a cliff hanger lol.  
> See ya next time!


	16. Sleepover (part two)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys! We reached 10k hits!!  
> Thank you all so much for reading this and leaving comments and kudos. I honestly never thought I'd make it past like 2k hits, but here we are!   
> I hope you enjoy the rest of the sleepover ;)

“What?” Peter stared at MJ, confused.

She shrugged nonchalantly. “What are we doing next?”

He arched an eyebrow at her. “You still wanna stay?”

“Yeah?” she answered with furrowed brows, equally confused as Peter now. “You think I’d leave just because of May? I’m pretty sure we went past the awkward state when we started sucking on each other.”

Peter huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess.”

“But”, she said, reaching for their still full cups on the coffee table. “In order for it to stay like that we do need to finish these.” 

Peter accepted his cup without any objections. “Cheers.” He downed all of it immediately despite the burning in his throat, and MJ followed his example.

“So”, Peter started when he’d finished coughing a bit. “What are we-”

His phone started ringing from the couch, which was odd since he’d left it on mute; that’s why May hadn’t been able to reach them.

He grabbed it from underneath a cushion and looked at the screen. He then groaned and put his face in his free hand.

“What is it?”

Peter sighed. “Tony is trying to facetime me.”

MJ snorted. “Really? Wow, words do travel fast.”

He declined the call, but less than five seconds later he got a text from him instead.

_ If you don’t answer I’m going to assume that you’re having sex. _

Peter felt his entire face go red as MJ snatched the phone from his hand. She laughed and started typing.

“What are you writing?” Peter asked, slightly panicked.

“Chill out”, MJ said, handing him the phone back. He looked at the screen.

_ Tell May Michelle thinks she’s a tattle-tale _

Peter groaned when the reply came in.

_ Don’t forget to use condoms! _

“Why didn’t we lock the door?” Peter whined and threw his head back on the seat of the couch. “I  _ always _ lock the door when May’s not home!”

“Well”, MJ said, glancing meaningfully at the now empty vodka bottle on the coffee table. “I’m not surprised you forgot.” She looked back at Peter. “And on a positive note, if it wasn’t for our… uh, little game, she probably would’ve noticed the alcohol.”

Peter hummed. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. But I honestly don’t know what’s worse; May catching me drinking or Tony reminding me to use condoms.”

“What?” MJ laughed, snatching the phone from him again. “Jesus, he’s the master at embarrassing you. I should probably ask for some tips.”

“You embarrass me enough for all three of you”, Peter muttered. 

“Yeah I do, don’t I?” she agreed. “Hey, did you get a boner when I gave you the hickey?”

He groaned and draped an arm over his face. “Probably”, he admitted, making MJ laugh again. 

It went quiet. Peter felt the warmth and slight buzz coursing through is body, which he guessed was the effect of the alcohol. It didn’t take him long to get over the distress about Tony and May, and soon he was back to thinking about the fact that he and MJ were alone in his apartment. It was barely 9 yet, and they had already given each other a hickey. What more was going to happen tonight? He kind of felt omnipotent, as if this night wasn’t a part of existence and that whatever they did would be erased and not have any consequences. Any worries about Tony and May or awkwardness on Monday during lunch were now completely out the window, and he was about to ask MJ about their next activity again when he suddenly felt a hand brush across his neck. 

“This is already starting to fade”, she mumbled, and Peter opened his eyes and took his arm away to see her sitting in front of him again, a hand brushing along his neck gently.

“Yeah? Well, then I guess you better make a new one.” Peter was shocked by his sudden braveness and bluntness, and he saw the same shock on MJ’s face for a few seconds before a half-smile appeared. She then withdrew her hand and leaned back with furrowed brows, and she was quiet for a minute as she seemed to be thinking. She looked back up at Peter again.

“I have a proposition.”

Peter arched an eyebrow. “Uh, sure. What?”

She took a deep breath and bit her lip slightly. “We’re friends, Peter, right?”

Peter nodded immediately, and even though he did want more he was extremely happy to hear her utter those words. “Yeah, of course.”

“And, um, you’ve seen those movies where friends do things, like… you know,  _ friends with benefits _ , that kind of thing?”

Peter furrowed his brows, not sure where this was going. “Yeah…?”

“Well, I was thinking, since we’ve already done this”, she flicked her hand over the huge hickey above her collarbone, “and while the alcohol is still in our system, maybe we could, you know, continue?”

Peter was too shocked to immediately comprehend what she was saying, and said: “You seem to blame a lot of this on the alcohol.”

She huffed, dropping her hand to her lap. “I think it’s a pretty good fucking excuse.”

Peter nodded, but didn’t say anything else. MJ cocked her head to the side and arched an eyebrow.

“So, you down?”

“For what?”

She shrugged, smiling. “Experimenting, I guess.”

Something then clicked in Peter’s head, and he finally understood what she was asking for. He stared at her nonchalant expression, and didn’t feel very omnipotent anymore.

“Are you sure?” he breathed.

She rolled her eyes. “Come on, Peter. We’re teenagers; it’s what we’re supposed to do. We can try this stuff out and still be friends, right?”

Peter gulped. “Uh, and what kind of stuff do you mean exactly…?”

“Well, maybe not  _ sex _ , but you know.” Her smile faded slightly. “But we obviously don’t have to if you don’t want to, it’s just a suggestion.”

“You’re drunk”, was all Peter got out.

She laughed. “Not enough to not give consent.” She placed a hand on Peter’s knee, and it felt like it shot electricity through his whole body. He looked up at MJ, who had a soft smile on her face. “So, what do you say? No strings attached.”

The thing that kept Peter back was the fact that this would mean completely different things to them. If he ever laid a hand on her it would be out of complete and pure love, but he knew that she just saw it as a game, something interesting to do with her friend while they were drunk. 

But it always came back to one thought, and it was how badly he wanted to do those things with her, and right now he didn’t care whether they were out of love or alcohol.

_ Screw it _ , he thought to himself as he slowly leaned forward, putting his hands on her thighs and feeling her move her hand from his knee to the back of his neck… 

The door suddenly flung open, again, and Peter stopped right as the tip of his nose brushed against MJ’s. He straightened quickly, letting go of MJ’s thighs and put them on the rug behind his back, and he felt her nails scrape against his neck as she withdrew her hand.

He whipped his head around and saw a grinning Tony Stark standing in the doorway.  _ Fuck _ .

“Hey, kids!” he exclaimed happily as he made his way over to the living room, plopping down on the couch next to Peter’s head. “What’s crackalackin?”

Peter glanced over MJ’s head to the coffee table and saw that she, thankfully, had put the empty glass bottle away. He turned his body to face Tony, feeling a burning heat spread across his entire face. “What are you doing here?”

“Just wanted to check in on you guys”, he said with a wide grin, clapping Peter on the shoulder. “See how you’re doing.”

Peter looked back at MJ and saw her shifting uncomfortably, managing to glare at Tony out of the corner of her eyes. He turned back to him. “We, uh, we’re fine, Tony. You didn’t have to come all the way here just to check on us.”

“I know, but  _ someone _ was ignoring my calls.” He gave Peter a half hearted glare. “And also, they had to decontaminate the tower.”

Peter raised an eyebrow. “Decontaminate?”

“Yep. Some sort of bug has spread across the entire tower. Probably something Clint brought in. So, we’re staying the night.” In the same moment, May walked in through the door, carrying two bags of what Peter guessed was takeout food.

Peter snapped his head to Tony, eyes widening. “You’re, uh, you’re staying?”

“Mhm”, Tony hummed. “Sorry kid, no choice.” But something in Tony’s grin made Peter question him.

May walked up to them, put the bags on the coffee table and sat down next to Tony on the couch. “I got some takeout for you guys too, since I figured that you probably were, uh, a bit hungry. I got vegetarian for you, Michelle. It’s in the left bag.”

MJ looked up at her and managed to smile through her clear embarrassment. “Thanks, May.”

“Yeah, we’re, uh”, Peter stammered as he quickly stood up and grabbed their bag, MJ standing up next to him. “We’re gonna eat this in my room, if that’s okay.” He glanced back at MJ to see if that was okay with her too, and she nodded once.

“Yeah, sure”, May said with a smile as Tony put an arm around her. 

They started making their way to Peter’s room when Tony called out: “Leave the door open!”

He heard May smack his arm. “No, you don’t have to!”

Peter shut the door as soon as they were in his bedroom, leaning his head against it with a sigh. He turned around and saw MJ sitting down on the end of his bed, kicking her boots off. He made his way over to her, put the bag down on the nightstand and sat down on the bed, at least three feet away from her. He glanced up at her and saw that she was staring at him too. He closed his eyes and leaned back against the wall, sighing. 

He already felt himself sobering, most likely because of his unnaturally fast metabolism, and MJ’s suggestion didn’t seem like a very good one anymore now that he could really consider the consequences. He guessed that the lack of hands squeezing his leg was also part of the reason he was able to think more clearly. 

He felt the mattress dip next to him, and then two hands were grabbing onto his hips. He shot his eyes open just as MJ straddled him, sitting down on his lap. His breath caught in his throat and he gripped the sheet with his hands to make sure they stayed in place. 

MJ looked down at him with a soft smile. “Wanna continue where we left off?” 

_ Fuck yeah I do _ , first went across his mind, but Peter forced himself to stay focused. 

Which became extremely hard when MJ leaned forward and pressed her lips to his neck, trailing kisses along it. 

“What if they hear us?” he gasped out, trying to think of anything to make her stop, even though he at the same time definitely didn’t want her to. 

“They won’t, we’ll be quiet”, she mumbled against his neck. 

The kissing continued and after a minute, which felt like hours to Peter, MJ moved one hand from his hip and started stroking the skin underneath them hem of his shirt with her fingers. 

He threw his head back against the wall and suppressed a moan. His hands were gripping the sheets so tightly his knuckles were turning white. 

_ Stay focused _ , he tried to tell himself, but that thought was overshadowed by the fact that MJ had started to ever so slightly grind her hips in his lap, and he clenched his jaw tightly when he felt he thigh against his definitely hard dick. 

She then moved her hand underneath his shirt and started rubbing her palm along his stomach and chest muscles, basically feeling him up. 

When she grazed her teeth against his skin lightly his eyes shot open and he put his hands on her shoulders, finally managing to get control over himself despite everything she was doing to him. “MJ, stop.”

She withdrew her hand and straightened, looking at him with an arched eyebrow. “What?”

He let go of her shoulders and put his hands on the mattress against. “I just… have you really thought through this? Have you considered all the consequences?”

MJ smiled. “Peter, I’ve told you that I don’t care if it gets awkward on Monday.”

“Yeah I know, and I agree, but are you sure you won’t  _ regret  _ this on Monday?”

MJ rolled her eyes. “What’s there to regret? We’re just fooling around.” 

She leaned forward again, this time toward his mouth, but he put a hand on her shoulder again to stop her. “You’re drunk.”

She furrowed her brows, leaning back. “You keep saying that.”

He sighed. “If we’re going to do anything, I just want us to do it when we’re sober. If I did something to you when you’d been drinking, and you regretted it, I would’ve never been able to forgive myself.”

She stared at him for a moment, and then moved a hand to his head to thread her fingers through his hair. “You shouldn’t use so much product in your hair. Your curls are adorable.”

“MJ.”

She looked down at him with a sigh, cocking her head to the side. “I guess you’re a gentleman too, huh?” she said after a beat of silence, smiling softly.

She slid from his lap onto the bed, Peter holding her upper arm for support. She mimicked his position against the wall next to him.

“You don’t have to stay”, he said after a minute of silence, looking down at his hands in his lap.

She huffed. “That’s like the third time you’ve said that tonight. What, do you want me to leave?”

“No, of course not!” Peter said, looking up at her. “I just, uh, I understand if you don’t want to spend more time with me after I, uhm… rejected you?”

“Okay, first of all,  _ you _ did not reject  _ me _ . We made a mutual decision to stop, alright?” Peter was relieved to see her smiling at him. “Second of all, I’m probably still too drunk to be embarrassed or awkward.”

Peter laughed. “Then maybe we should eat. You know, to soak up that alcohol.”

He gave her the vegetarian Pad Thai and they started eating while making small talk. Now that he had almost fully sobered he noticed just how intoxicated she were; her words were slurring a bit, and she kept grabbing his hair and pinching his cheeks, telling him how adorable he was. He was glad that he’d stopped before she did something she’d regret later. Well, maybe she would feel a bit awkward about the hickeys, but at least it wasn’t as bad as hooking up.

Five minutes after they’d finished their food MJ was sound asleep on Peter’s left shoulder, snoring slightly. He put their empty containers on the nightstand and then carefully grabbed her shoulders to lay her down on the bed. He pulled the covers on top of her and then quietly changed into his pyjamas. Thankfully MJ was wearing a t-shirt and leggings, so it probably wouldn’t be too uncomfortable for her to sleep in it. 

He grabbed the boxes from the upper bunk, put them on the floor, and then quietly climbed up the ladder to the bed.

He lay on his back for a few minutes just listening to MJ’s breathing and replaying the last few hours in his head, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep. The last thing he remembered was thinking how badly he wanted to climb down and go to sleep in the lower bunk instead, having soft arms wrapped around his torso and burying his head in a bundle of curls. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's a sleepover without mom and dad coming home to embarrass you and your crush?  
> What'd you think about Peter's decision? Was he doing the right thing or should he just have let go and be taken along for the ride? ;)  
> See ya next time!


	17. We broke our rule, you know

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: short chapter ahead!  
> I'm going to spend the entire weekend, including today, Friday, painting the house with my family, and so I might not be able to write that much. I wanted to post what I had so that you guys got at least something, and I'll write as much as possible and MAYBE even post once more this weekend :)  
> Enjoy!

Tony exhaled and dropped his head in the crook of May’s neck, letting the pillow muffle his ragged breaths. May’s grip around his shoulders loosened and she let her arms fall to her sides, her breaths as ragged as Tony’s.

“ _Fuck_ ”, he breathed and pressed a kiss to May’s shoulder. Her skin was hot and a bit damp, and a scent that he could only describe as _him and her_ hit him as he ran his nose along her neck. She leaned her cheek against his temple and he felt her hot breath on his neck.

He rolled off of her onto his back and tried to catch his breath. After a minute he twisted to his side and propped himself up on an elbow. “You okay?”

“Yeah”, May mumbled, still a bit breathless, eyelids already closed as she was falling back to sleep. Tony put a hand on her cheek and she hummed happily, leaning into his touch. “We broke our rule, you know”, she muttered.

“Hm?”

“To never do it when he’s home.”

“Oh.” Tony started stroking his thumb along her cheekbone. “Well, I’m guessing he’s too busy in his own room to notice us.”

May opened her eyes, looking at Tony. “Do you really think they’re…” she whispered.

He shrugged with one shoulder. “Considering what they did when we came home…”

“Well, giving each other hickeys and almost kissing doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re about to have sex. And since they started hanging out pretty recently, I’m guessing this was their first time doing that.”

“And we deliberately ruined it”, Tony said, grinning widely.

May huffed out a laugh. “Is there any way we can justify that?”

“I don’t think it’s a sin for a woman to not want her fifteen year old nephew to be alone in an apartment with a girl he might have sex with.”

May bit her lip. “Well, it’s just that… I don’t mind it, I just couldn’t stand walking around in that tower when I knew they were alone here after I had walked in on them. I don’t want Peter to think that I’m not okay with that stuff.”

Tony cupped her cheek. “I’m sure he knows that. Otherwise we would’ve said something instead of teasing them about it, right?”

May nodded thoughtfully. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”

They lay like that for a minute before Tony rolled onto his back again and grunted. “I’ve got to take a shower.” He propped himself up on his elbows again. “You wanna join? You know, save water, help the environment, all that stuff?”

May smiled and chuckled. “As long as you promise me a round two.”

Tony smirked, grabbed her hip underneath the blanket and pulled her closer. “Always. And it’s round _three_ , by the way.”

May rolled her eyes. “That first time _barely_ counted. It couldn’t have been more than thirty seconds.”

“And whose fault is that, exactly?” Tony said mockingly, squeezing her hip.

May smiled as she sat up. “Just be glad you weren’t first for once.” She started putting on a shirt and sweatpants.

Tony huffed. “At least I don’t fall asleep right after.”

May smacked his arm playfully. “You should take that as a compliment, that the orgasms you give are so good they knock me out.”

Tony leaned over the bed, wrapping his arms around May’s waist and pulling her close to him. “Say that again”, he whispered seductively in her ear.

She giggled, turned around in his grip and climbed onto his lap, straddling him. “Your orgasms are _so fucking good_ ”, she whispered back.

He tightened his grip around her. “If you keep going like that we’ll never make it to the shower.”

She slowly leaned forward, hands around his neck, but just as their lips brushed she pulled back and rolled out of his grip, standing up beside the bed. “Hurry up, then.” She smiled innocently at him.

He huffed and started putting on a shirt and sweats as well, and they made their way out of the bedroom.

The living room was pretty dark, but they didn’t want to turn the lights on since it would leak into Peter’s room and maybe wake him up due to his enhanced senses, so they carefully made their way through the room toward the bathroom.

When they walked past the couch Tony accidentally knocked something over on the floor. He looked down and saw that it was a backpack, probably Michelle’s. He crouched down to pick it up again, but froze when he saw an empty glass bottle laying on the carpet next to it. He picked it up and turned it around, looking at the label.

“ _May_ ”, he hissed, standing up and switching on the floor lamp next to the couch, not caring about Peter’s enhanced senses anymore.

She turned around and walked back a few steps to look at what he was holding under the lamp. After a beat her hand flew to her mouth, eyes widening. “ _No_ …”

He gripped the bottle tightly and took a deep breath to calm himself down. “How _dare_ they…” He stopped and looked over at May. “Do you accept this?”

She shook her head sharply. “Definitely not. Never.”

That was all Tony needed. He turned on his heel toward Peter’s room and started walking, but was stopped after a few seconds by May’s grip on his upper arm. “Tony, wait.”

He turned back around. “This was in Michelle’s bag”, he said. “I _knew_ something was up with that girl.” He gritted his teeth. “They had probably decided before that she would bring it. God, I’m _never_ letting our kid-”

“Tony, honey”, May said, cupping his face with her hands. “I know you’re upset, and believe me, I am too. But let’s just not do this right now, alright? It’s three in the morning. Let’s confront them tomorrow, okay? None of us are up to having this conversation right now.”

Tony looked at her for a minute before sighing. “Alright. But promise me we’ll do this as soon as everyone has gotten up tomorrow, okay?”

She nodded. “Of course.”

They made their way back to their bedroom, and May almost had to pry the bottle from his hand and put it on the nightstand.

After a few minutes May had fallen asleep again, but Tony was kept up by the haunting memories of how he’d tried alcohol for the first time when he was around Peter’s age. After almost an hour of telling himself that Peter was a good kid and would not become like him, he was finally able to drift off to sleep.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What's going to happen in the morning?? ;)  
> Again, I might not be able to post again this weekend, but I'll try my best. I promise I won't post later than on Wednesday at least :)  
> See ya next time!


	18. The morning after

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another short chapter, I know, but I didn't have any time to write this weekend and I just wanted to give you guys something. I'll try getting back to writing longer chapters from now on!

Peter was woken up by the low sound of rustling beneath him. At first he was confused about what could be making sounds underneath his bed, until he remembered that he was laying in the top bunk, and the reason why.

He sat up and leaned over the small fence surrounding the mattress, peeking down at the lower bunk.

MJ was tossing and turning slightly in the bed, low whimpers coming out of her mouth. He felt the panic rise at her distressed state and was about to literally jump down and check on her, when she stilled and blinked her eyes opened. She looked up at Peter, confused, and he stared back at her without making a sound.

She furrowed her brows, but immediately groaned and closed her eyes, relaxing her face again. “Fuck, I’m hungover.”

Peter opened his mouth to ask something along the lines of  _ are you okay? _ , but closed it again.

She rolled from her side onto her back and started rubbing her face with both her hands. “What happened last night? I just remember us playing some games, and then May and Tony came home. Wait, didn’t May come home before that? God, I’m confused.”

Peter was struck with the realization that MJ might not remember what had happened the night before. Should he tell her? Or would it be better to just pretend it never happened and spare her the embarrassment? No, she definitely deserved to know…

While his mind was racing MJ had locked her gaze on something that wasn’t quite Peter’s face, but close, and he realized what it was a second too late. His hand quickly slapped over the left side of his neck, but her eyes had already widened and she exhaled.

“Fuck”, she breathed, and Peter could almost hear the  _ click _ in her head as she made the connection. “I was really stupid last night, wasn’t I?”

“No, you weren’t”, Peter reassured, climbing down the ladder. He stood awkwardly in front of the lower bunk, not sure whether to sit down or not, especially when she was still laying down and taking up the whole space with her long legs. “You didn’t do anything stupid.” That technically wasn’t lying, right? He  _ had _ stopped her before she did.

She huffed and nodded to his neck. “Really?”

Peter cleared his throat, rubbing his neck. “Well, uh… I might’ve done something worse.”

She furrowed her brows, but after a second her eyes widened and her hand flew to her left collarbone. Peter sighed and grabbed his phone from the nightstand, handing her it. She opened the camera app and pulled down her t-shirt slightly, revealing the huge hickey he’d given her.

She then, much to Peter’s surprise, huffed out a laugh. She looked up at him again. “We were crazy last night, huh?”

Peter stared back at her, dumbfounded. “Uh, I guess?”

She put the phone down on the nightstand and slowly sat up, placing her feet on the floor. “Did we do anything else?” Her voice was a bit tense, but she was otherwise very calm and nonchalant. 

“Uh, well…” Peter started rubbing his neck again and cleared his throat.  _ She deserves to know. _ “You, uh, kinda made a move on me, but I stopped it before it lead somewhere.”

“Oh.” She frowned. “I didn’t do anything you didn’t like, right?”

“Oh, no!”  _ Definitely not _ . “I, uh, just stopped you because you were drunk and didn’t know what you were doing, you know. Oh, but, uh, not that I  _ did _ want you to… or, I mean, uh-”

“Peter, stop, before you give yourself a cerebral haemorrhage or something”, MJ said, but what made him stop talking was the half-smile she gave him.

He nodded, and it then went quiet. After a minute she patted the mattress next to her, and he hesitantly sat down.

After another moment of silence she sighed and turned to face him. “I’m sorry, Peter.”

He frowned. “Sorry for what? I told you nothing happened, and even if it did I-”

“No, not that. I mean this whole thing in general.”

“I don’t understand.”

She sighed again and lowered her gaze to the space on the mattress between their hands. “I shouldn’t have brought the alcohol. It was stupid and irresponsible of me. And then your aunt and Tony came home…”

“Hey”, Peter said, suppressing the urge to place a finger underneath her chin and tilt her head upwards. “This is as much my responsibility as yours, alright?  _ I _ decided to drink it, and I did have a really good time, despite, uh, what happened.”

“Well, it’ll sure be a night to remember.” She looked up at him again with a smile.

Peter couldn’t help but smile back. “Definitely.”

Even though he was a bit hurt from hearing her say that she didn’t mean to do the things she did to him yesterday, he was still glad that she wasn’t regretting it and didn’t feel completely mortified. Maybe they could still maintain a friendship after last night.

“Are you not hungover?” MJ groaned and leaned back against the wall, mimicking the position Peter had taken the night before after fleeing from Tony and May. “I feel like shit.”

Peter shrugged. “Not really. You want some painkillers? I think May put some in my schoolbag a while ago.”

MJ stood up carefully and made her way over to his bag that sat on his desk, simply putting a hand up when he tried to insist that he could get them for her.

“Wow, Peter. Yesterday alcohol, today drugs? I’ve got you on a roll.”

Peter laughed as he watched her open his bag and, for the second time that morning, didn’t realize his mistake before it was too late.

He shot to his feet and was about to sprint forward and yank the bag away from her, but she already had the red and blue fabric in her hand.

The room fell completely silent. The only thing Peter could hear was the rapid heartbeat in his chest. MJ kept staring at the fabric in her hands, her face expressionless. 

Peter didn’t dare to say anything, but was dying to know what was going through her mind. Was she shocked? Well, yeah, obviously. But was she just surprised or, like,  _ really _ shocked? Did she even understand what she was holding in her hands?

“MJ…”

She suddenly threw it back in the bag, almost knocking it over, and made her way to the door. Peter just managed to place a hand on her upper arm before she opened it, making her freeze. She turned around to face him.

“You’re Spider-Man.” It wasn’t a question, but a statement.

Peter bit his lip and nodded. “I, uhm, I’m so sorry you had to find out this way.”

She shrugged and moved her gaze to somewhere behind him. “I had my suspicions.”

He frowned. “You did?” 

It didn’t really come as much of a surprise to Peter - MJ noticed  _ everything _ \- but then why was she so upset, if it wasn’t because of shock?

She looked back at him. “Who else knows?”

“Uh, May, Tony and Ned.”

She stared at him for a moment before opening her mouth, but she closed it again and just started nodding. “Alright.”

She then turned on her heel, yanked the door open and quickly made her way through the apartment. Peter had barely set a foot outside of his bedroom before he heard the echo of the door slamming shut.

He stood frozen in the doorway, staring out at the dark living room and seeing MJ’s bag still sitting next to the coffee table. 

He was pretty sure he knew what had happened. MJ had found out that he was Spider-Man, and if that wasn’t enough of a shock for her she also found out that Ned knew. 

This was exactly what he had feared was going to happen. Peter and Ned had had a secret together that MJ wasn’t in on, that they had deliberately kept from her. And now she probably felt betrayed, lied to, and it must've hurt even more since she had just started calling Peter her friend and showing him a deeper and more vulnerable side of her, opening up to him. 

He leaned against the doorframe and sank down to the floor, laying his forehead against his knees. He wasn’t sure if he would ever be able to forgive himself for hurting her like this. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The secret is out...  
> I hope you guys enjoyed this! I'll hopefully post at least one more longer chapter this week. Writing will probably flow pretty easily from now on since I have the next few days in the fic well planned out, and trust me, A LOT is going to happen in these next few chapters ;)  
> See ya next time!


	19. Concerned parents

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to point out that the events of Infinity War will not affect this story in any way (at least not for now).  
> With that said, I saw Infinity War yesterday and I'm seeing it again tomorrow. For those of you who haven't seen it yet: you're not ready. (Spoilers will be deleted!)  
> Also, I'm so sorry for the wait! I've just been so busy lately, but it's better now :)  
> Enjoy!

_I’m sorry MJ_

_I wanted to tell you but I couldn’t_

_I actually never told anyone, they all found out by themselves_

_I’m so sorry_

Peter put the phone down on his nightstand after sending his fourth text to MJ. It had been over an hour since she stormed out and it was now just past 8.

He rolled over to his side in the lower bunk and pressed his face against the pillow. A hint of MJ’s scent still lingered in it, a contrast to the rest of his teenage boy-smelling bed.

His eyes had finally dried after crying for an hour, the guilt almost too much for him to bear. He hated himself for hurting her like this, but what made it worse was that he probably wouldn’t have changed it even if he could. He would never tell her about Spider-Man if he could avoid it, never get her involved in all this.

After another 15 minutes of just laying there and feeling sorry for himself his phone buzzed, and he almost fell out of the bed in his hurry to grab it.

_Chill out, Parker. I just need some space right now._

He breathed a sigh of relief. Even though she usually hid her true feelings she probably wouldn’t reassure him if she was completely broken. And he could give her space. It would be hard as hell for him to stay away from her, but if that’s what she needed he wouldn’t hesitate to comply.

His thumbs hovered over the screen. Should he respond? Or would that go against her request for space, even if it was just a text?

_Of course! I’ll be here when you’re ready to talk or whatever. Or not._

He bit his lip and hesitated for a moment before adding,

_Are you okay?_

He exhaled and threw his phone back on the nightstand, but it buzzed again before his head hit the pillow.

_I’m fine. I’ll talk to you later_

He couldn’t help a smile after reading her response. She was fine, and she would talk to him later.

_:)_

He put his phone back on the nightstand before he could type something else, and he decided to leave her alone until she texted him again.

He lay back down on the bed and not even a minute later he was fast asleep, his body finally able to relax.

 

-

 

He was awakened by a rapid knock on the door. He tiredly blinked his eyes opened and yawned, stretching his limbs out. He reached his arm out and grabbed his phone from the nightstand.

_10:18_. No new messages.

Another knock, louder this time. “I’m coming”, he muttered, doubting that the person outside could hear him.

He stood up with a yawn and made his way over to the door. Right outside stood Tony, staring down at him with a stern look.

Peter frowned. “Is something wrong?”

Tony took a deep breath and then looked past Peter into his room. “Michelle’s gone?”

“Uh, yeah, she went home three hours ago.”

Without asking why she had gone so early, which Peter thought most people would’ve, Tony turned around with a huff and walked over to the dinner table, sitting down on a chair next to May, whom Peter had just noticed.

May took a deep breath and looked up at him. “Could you join us, please?”

He raised an eyebrow and started walking toward the table, but after a few steps he saw the empty glass bottle sitting next to May, and he forced himself to stay calm and continue walking as he frantically tried to come up with an explanation that would exclude MJ. Which would probably be hard, considering they must’ve found it in _her_ backpack.

He pulled a seat out across from them and slowly sat down, clearing his throat. “So, uhm… what’s up?”

Tony raised an eyebrow and huffed. “‘ _What’s up_ ’? Really? Are you seriously going to play dumb right now?”

“Tony”, May said softly, placing a hand over Tony’s tightly clenched fist resting on the table.

“No, we _are not_ going to sugarcoat this, May.” He pulled his hand from her grasp and grabbed the bottle, putting it in front of Peter. “Where’d you get this from, Peter?”

Peter felt himself starting to sweat, and he fidgeted nervously with his hands under the table. “Uh, it was… I got it.”

Tony raised an eyebrow. “You got it?”

He cleared his throat again. “Yeah, um, I got it from a guy at school.”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “Who specifically did you get it from?”

He took a deep breath and looked down at his lap. “I talked to one of Flash’s friends who got it from an older guy. MJ had no idea until she got here.” He was surprised by how smoothly the lies came.

“Look at me, Peter.”

He looked up.

“Then why did we find this in Michelle’s backpack?”

He gulped. “Well, uh… I hid it there after the first time May walked in.”

Tony stared at him silently for a second. “And you drank all of it.” The disappointment was clear in his voice, and it immediately started aching in Peter’s chest.

“No, we- uh, there was only like half left.”

He raised and eyebrow again. “You bought a bottle that was only half full?”

Peter opened his mouth, and closed it again. _Shit_. “Well, um… it was half the price?”

Tony stared him down for a minute. Peter knew he noticed the holes in his story, but he apparently let it go.

“This is not acceptable, Peter.” His voice was much more stern now.

Peter looked down in shame. “I know.”

“Not one bit.”

“I’m sorry.”

“We don’t _ever_ want to catch you doing this again until you’re 21, understood?”

“Yes.”

Tony then took a shuddering breath, making Peter look up. He was leaning his face against his palm. May put a hand on his shoulder and started rubbing it slightly. “It’s okay”, she muttered.

Peter furrowed his brows. “Tony?”

He took a deep breath, rubbed his hand across his face and then looked up at the boy across from him again. He stared at him for a moment, with a pain in his eyes that Peter couldn’t explain nor understand.

“May will give you your punishment.”

He quickly stood up and made his way to his and May’s bedroom. A few seconds after the door was slammed shut May looked back at Peter. “I don’t know came over you.”

Peter looked down at his lap again. “I’m so sorry, May. I just… I guess I wanted to try and be like other kids my age, you know?”

She sighed. “I understand that, but was this really the right way? Buying a bottle from a stranger that could contain anything except vodka, and drinking it alone in the apartment? What if someone had put drugs in it and Tony and I never came home last night, huh? It could’ve really hurt you, Peter. And it would’ve hurt Michelle too, and then you’d have that on you conscious.”

Peter felt his eyes starting to get watery. Even though he knew that MJ had actually been the one who brought the bottle he was still ashamed that he’d made them get drunk. May was right; they had no idea what was in that bottle, since she had stolen it from her brother’s room.

He sniffled. “I’m so, so sorry May. It was extremely stupid of me.”

She sighed. “Well, I think you’ve learned your lesson. But there’ll still be consequences.”

He looked back up at her with furrowed brows. “What kind of consequences?”

She bit her lip and seemed to hesitate for a moment. “You’re not allowed to go out on patrol for two weeks.”

His eyes widened. “What?”

“And after your little stunt in DC last year Tony has done something with the suit so that it’ll alert him whenever you turn anything off, including the tracker.”

Peter groaned. “Are you serious?”

May gave him a stern look. “This is a _mild_ outcome, Peter, considering what you’ve done.”

He knew that what he did had been bad, but bad enough for him to deserve being forbidden from going out as Spider-Man? He didn’t think so.

“Fine”, he huffed and then stood up to walk back to his room. When inside he immediately grabbed his phone, and without even looking for any new messages he called Ned.

“ _Hey, dude_ ”, he answered after the second signal. “ _How was last night? Wait, is she still there?_ ”

“I don’t have time to tell you everything right now, Ned”, Peter hurriedly explained. “Can I come over?”

“ _Uh, yeah sure, but I’m going away with my parents to my grandmother this afternoon, so you can’t spend the night._ ”

“Yeah, that’s fine. I just… I need to get out of here.”

“ _Did something happen?_ ”

“I’ll tell you everything when I get there, okay?”

“ _Yeah, sure._ ”

Peter hung up and put his phone in the pocket of his sweats.

He then grabbed a backpack and filled it with clothes, books, his charger and his suit. He swung it over one shoulder and opened the door, walking out.

Tony had come out of the bedroom and sat next to May again, her arm around his shoulders. They both looked up when he came out.

“I’m going to spend the night as Ned’s.”

May nodded, but Tony furrowed his brows. “Do you have your suit with you?”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, but only because I like to keep it close. And you’ll know if I leave Ned’s with it, since you’re tracking my every move.”

May sighed. “Peter…”

“I’m joking, May.” Although he really wasn’t.

“I’m going away tonight, kid”, Tony said. “Tokyo, a big meeting with Stark Industries. I probably won’t be home until Tuesday.”

“Okay, bye!” Peter said without looking at them, quickling putting his shoes on and grabbing his jacket before rushing out the door.

 

-

 

Peter checked his phone for the tenth time in the last hour. _4:09_. No new messages.

“Peter, dude, relax”, Ned said as he twisted his whole body, as if it would actually help his character in the _Mario Kart_ game. “She’ll text you back when she’s ready. Also, it’s not fun to win if it’s just because you keep looking at your phone.”

The moment Peter had walked into Ned’s apartment he’d told him everything about the night before and that morning. It had taken him almost a whole hour to go through everything, partly because Ned constantly interrupted him and asked about details. Even though it was a bit annoying is still showed that he was listening and actually interested.

“I’m sorry, I just… God, I must’ve hurt her so bad.”

Ned sighed. “Dude, we’ve gone through this a million times by now. I’m sure she understands why you didn’t tell her, she knows that you technically haven’t told anyone yourself, and if she was completely devastated she wouldn’t have texted you saying “ _I’m fine_ ”.

“I know, but I just can’t stop feeling guilty about it.”

“I understand, and the only thing you can do is try to focus on something else. Come on, I wanna prove that I can beat you even when you’re actually trying.”

Peter laughed and started playing with his best friend.

About fifteen minutes later Ned’s mom poked her head inside the room. “We’re leaving in an hour, Ned. I’m sorry, Peter, but we’ll unfortunately have to kick you out then.” She smiled softly at him.

“That’s alright, Mrs Leeds.” He smiled back.

She left, and Peter took a deep breath and looked over at Ned. “I need to ask you a favour.”

Ned raised an eyebrow and paused the game. “Uh, sure. What is it?”

Peter bit his lip. “You remember back in DC?”

“Yeah?”

“I was thinking that we maybe could, uhm, do that thing again?”

Ned furrowed his brows, but after a moment his eyes widened. “Oh no, we’re not!”

“Please!” Peter begged. “Come on, I _have_ to go out on patrol tonight! You’d be like the guy in the chair again.”

“Nu-uh, that doesn’t work on me anymore. And do you remember what happened last time? Mr Stark was pissed! There’s no way I’m doing that again.”

Peter though for a moment. “Well, what if we didn’t turn the tracker off?”

Ned raised an eyebrow. “Huh?”

“May said that Tony will only notice if I _turn off_ something, right? How about we just change the tracker to show what we want? Could we do that?”

Ned hesitated for a moment. “Well, I guess…”

“Aw, come on, man! Tony is in Tokyo and won’t notice a thing, and I’ll be back home at ten telling May that you and your parents left half an hour before that. I just really need to get out tonight, Ned, I need to focus on something else.”

Ned bit his lip and then sighed. “Alright, fine. I’ll _look_ at it and see if there’s something I can do.”

A wide grin spread across Peter face and he wrapped his arms around Ned in a tight hug. “You’re the best friend and guy in the chair ever.”

Ned laughed and hugged him back. “Alright, get your suit out.”

After plugging the suit into Ned’s computer and looking at it for half an hour while Peter paced across the room, even the walls at some point, Ned finally said “Hey, I think I got it.”

Peter quickly jumped onto the bed. “What? What did you get?”

“I think I found a way to hack into the tracker, and also see how it’s connected to different areas and places, like zip codes. I can probably make it look like the suit is still here while you’re out on patrol, and as soon as you walk into the area around your apartment the tracker will send out signals as if it’s making its way from my place to yours, and when it’s back in your apartment it’ll start tracking normally again.”

“You’re a genius”, Peter said, laughing with excitement. “Can you do it now?”

“Yeah but it’ll probably take about half an hour. Is that okay?”

“Of course.”

Ned started working, and forty minutes later Peter had his suit on, sitting on the window frame with his backpack slung over one shoulder.

“I don’t know how to thank you, buddy.”

“It’s an honour to get to work with the almighty Spider-Man.”

Peter laughed. “Yeah, I probably wouldn’t call myself that.” He shifted on the window frame so that he was ready to jump out. He turned his head around to look at his friend. “I’ll see you on Monday. And again, thank you so much.”

“No problem, Peter. Just be careful.”

“Always.” He then leaped out the window, completely giving into his new senses and instincts as the vigilante hero.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'll try to start posting more frequently again from now on :)  
> See ya next time!


	20. Falling again

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've decided to make a rule that I'm from now on only allowed to post chapters that are at least 3k long, which means no more short chapters after this one :D  
> I hope you'll still enjoy this one though!

“ _ Peter, I highly suggest that you inform Mr Stark or your aunt about your whereabouts, in case you get hurt. _ ”

Peter, who was crouching on top of a rooftop, overlooking the dark city, rolled his eyes. “Yes, Karen, you’ve said that about a million times already. And there’s no way I’m telling them where I am, no physical injury I could get while patrolling would ever live up to the worseness of Tony or May finding out what I’m doing right now.”

“ _ I think the word you’re looking for is ‘awfulness’. _ ”

Peter huffed. “Smartass.”

He stood up again, started sprinting toward the edge of the roof and took a leap, shooting a web on the building next to him and started swinging.

“Hey, Karen, you can’t tell Tony where I am right now, can you?” he asked hesitantly after accidentally catching a glimpse of the Avengers tower in the distance.

“ _ Of course I can _ ”, she answered as if it was obvious. “ _ But only if you ask me to. Since you’re still at Ned’s, according to my tracker, the protocols aren’t going off. _ ” Her voice sounded very judgmental. “ _ That is, until you get a bad enough injury that you trigger another type of protocol. _ ”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, you have my permission to call Tony if I get hurt enough that I’m dying.”

“ _ I wouldn’t say that it is. _ ”

Peter kept swinging for a couple of minutes, enjoying the momentarily peace in the city and just letting himself take his mind off the events that had occurred during the day.

A few minutes later, Karen spoke up. “ _ Incoming call from Tony Stark. _ ”

Peter frowned. “I thought he was in Japan?”

“ _ He is. _ ”

He slowed his pace, thinking for a moment. “Ignore it”, he muttered.

He kept swinging for another few minutes when Karen spoke again. “ _ He’s sent you a text message. _ ”

His frown deepened, and he climbed up the wall of a building and sat down on the rooftop. “Really?”

“ _ Do you want me to read it out for you? _ ”

“Uh… sure.”

“ _ ‘ _ I hope you’re having fun with Ned, kid. Don’t drink too much soda, it’ll rot your teeth. _ ’ And now he just sent another one. ‘ _ I hope you understand that your aunt and I aren’t trying to make your life a living hell, we’re just trying to protect you _ ’ _ .” A slight pause. “ _ ‘ _ I’ll see you on Tuesday kid, already miss you and your aunt _ ’ _ .”

Peter sighed and dropped his head in his hands. He suddenly felt extremely guilty about basically storming out of the apartment earlier, hacking the suit  _ again _ , and, most importantly, lying to Tony and May.

“I should probably get home”, he mumbled as he stood up, quickly reminding himself of where he’d webbed up his backpack. “What time is it, Karen?”

“ _ 10:44 pm. _ ”

He groaned. “Damnit, she’ll never believe that Ned’s family left and sent me home this late.”

He quickly straightened and started sprinting toward the edge of the rooftop, faster than usual since he was now in a hurry to get home as soon as possible.

But,  _ of course _ the universe had a personal vendetta against him, and the day’s series of unfortunate events weren’t over yet.

Right as he was about to take a leap, he stepped on his right foot a little weird, twisting it slightly, and extreme pain flared up in his entire leg. 

In his shock which the pain brought, he stopped just before he was about to take the leap, and his leg gave way underneath him.

He was, once again, plummeting toward the ground in an alley, this time falling straight down.

He just managed to twist his body to the side, avoiding his face to take the hit.

 

-

 

The next thing he remembered was blinking his eyes open, confused for a second about what had happened, and then feeling the burning in his chest.

“ _ You have to breathe, Peter _ ”, he heard Karen’s voice in his ear. “ _ Take a deep breath, it’ll help with the pain. _ ”

_ Pain _ .

He then felt the excruciating pain targeting his left side, which he was laying on. He whined, and felt the last of his air leave his lungs.  

“ _ Peter _ ”, Karen spoke softly. “ _ Try not to focus on the pain and on your breathing instead. Close your eyes and try to take a deep breath. _ ”

Peter did as she said, and after a few failed attempts he finally managed to inhale, and then he started gasping deeply.

“ _ Calling Tony Stark _ ”, Karen announced.

“What?” Peter choked out, still trying to get control over his breathing. 

“ _ Per one of my protocols I’m obligated to call him whenever you’ve gotten hurt, as you know, and especially when you’ve broken your ribs. _ ”

Broken ribs?  _ Shit _ .

He took another deep breath, forcing himself to steady his breathing. “But tec-technically I’m still at N-Ned’s, right?”

Karen didn’t answer, and he hurriedly continue. 

“It st-still says that I’m there, right? D-Don’t you think his parents would help me, and we wouldn’t have to immediately call Tony?”

Karen stayed silent, and then said with a voice full of desperation, “ _ Please, Peter. _ ”

Peter kept taking deep breaths, and managed to sigh in between. “I’m sorry, Karen.”

She didn’t say anything else, and he kept trying to get his breathing under control.

After a couple of minutes, when his breathing had steadied, he started thinking about his next move. He had to get out of there; laying vulnerably in a dark alley in the middle of the night was highly dangerous, and he had started feeling small droplets of blood along his skin inside the suit. 

Going back home or calling Tony were definitely no options, and he couldn’t go back to Ned’s since his family had left hours ago.

He briefly considered calling an Avenger, but realized that they would most likely contact Tony anyway.

After thinking for another couple of minutes, still laying on the cold ground in the alley, he realized with defeat that he only had one more option left.

He inhaled and prepared himself before pressing his hand against the ground, slowly pressing himself up into a sitting position. He grunted, but managed to sit up despite the pain.

After another minute he had managed to stand up, and with both his hands pressed against his side he slowly started making his way toward the fairly close apartment complex, mentally begging that he would be let in. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Where's he going??  
> Again, from now on I'm only posting chapters that are at least 3k long, since lately I've had a bad habit of posting lots of way too short chapters. I'll probably still post as often though :)  
> See ya next time!


	21. Towel and Band-Aid

Peter leaned his forehead against the window and took a deep breath, making the glass fog as he slowly exhaled again. He’d pulled the mask up over his mouth; gasping in pain all the way here had made it damp, and eventually cold.

He had one hand on either side of the window and his feet set underneath it, practically crouching but, like, from a different angle. He lifted his head, turned it slightly to the right and gazed through the window, telling himself that this was the last time he’d look before knocking. There, on the bed next to window, sat a girl with her legs crossed and back against the window. Her hair was let down, and the curls were messier than usual, most likely from having it up all day. She was wearing a pair of grey sweatpants and a white tank top, which was short enough to also be called a crop top, allowing Peter to see most of the golden skin on her back, though he didn’t allow himself to look for more than a couple of seconds. 

He took another deep breath and cringed when his entire left side throbbed, especially his ribs. He groaned, hung his head and knocked on the window.

The girl stiffened and then quickly turned around. She stared at him, her face expressionless, and he immediately regretted his decision. How could he except her to help him after how he’d hurt her just mere hours before? 

But then her face broke into that half-smile and she stood up, walking around the bed and up to the window. It squeaked slightly as she carefully lifted, most likely from not being opened too often.

“Has my hero in shining armor finally come to save me from this awful tower in which I’m being held?” she said dramatically and took a step back, which Peter took as an invite to get in. He was about to either laugh at her comment or sigh with relief, but when he lifted his left leg and put it on the window frame, an intense pain started pulsating from his ribs and he collapsed, falling forward.

MJ caught him by the shoulders, preventing from falling face first on the floor. “Peter?” she said, all traces of humor now gone from her voice.

Despite feeling a bit embarrassed, he couldn’t help leaning his weight against her as the pain from his left side become even more intense. He groaned and rested his forehead against her shoulder.

“God, what happened?” She carefully moved him to the bed, laying him down. 

Finally getting to lay down after walking with broken ribs for almost an hour, being able to relax, actually eased some of Peter’s pain, and he closed his eyes and sighed with relief. “I fell”, he mumbled.

MJ sat on the edge of the bed next to his waist. “Fell from where?”

“The rooftop of a building.” He opened his eyes and saw the deep frown on her face.

“That must’ve really hurt you.”

He bit his lip, looked down at his body and saw that the blood had started to leak through the suit. MJ had apparently seen it too, because a second later she inhaled sharply and leaned forward over him, staring down at the darkened suit. “Jesus, Peter.”

Her hands hovered over the suit, clearly unsure of what to do. “I’ll go get the first aid kit”, she mumbled after a moment.

“MJ”, Peter said, carefully grabbing her wrist as she started to stand up. “That’s really not necessary.”

“You’re bleeding”, she said seriously.

“The cuts probably aren’t that deep, don’t bother.”

She sighed, sitting back down. “Alright, let me have a look at it and I’ll decide whether it’s necessary or not. My mom’s a nurse, so my word is final.”

Peter looked up at her. “You, uh, want me to take my suit off?”

She rolled her eyes. “Well, you don’t have to strip. Just peel it off your torso.”

Peter bit his lip, hesitating. 

“Look, we’ve already given each other hickeys and I’ve apparently tried to make a move on you, I think I can survive seeing your bare chest and stomach.”

He looked down at the spider-symbol on his chest. “You sure you’re comfortable with this?”

“Yes, Peter. Now hurry up before you bleed out.”

He slowly moved his hand to the symbol, pressed it, and the suit immediately doubled in its size. MJ arched an eyebrow at the weird mechanism and helped Peter get his arms out of it. He then grabbed the upper hem and slowly pulled it down, revealing his naked chest and stomach, until it reached just below his navel.

He looked back up at MJ, and she was staring down at his body. He wasn’t sure whether she was actually staring down at the small wounds or, well, his body. 

A few moments passed and she didn’t say anything, just kept staring. Peter raised an eyebrow. “MJ?”

“Hmm?” She snapped her head up. “Oh, yeah, the cuts aren’t that deep. I’ll just go get some water to clean them.”

She walked out of the room and came back a few minutes later with a small towel and a bowl of water, which she sat aside on the nightstand. She sat back down on the edge of the bed, dipped the towel in the bowl and started cleaning his cuts. It stung a little from the warm water, but was otherwise fine.

“MJ, you really don’t have to-”

“ _ Please _ , shut up for just once, Peter.”

The room went silent as MJ focused on her task, making sure she didn’t dig too deep into the wounds while still cleaning them thoroughly. Peter tried not to think too much of the way her hands felt against his skin, the hand that wasn’t holding the towel always lightly pressed against his stomach or chest for some support.

He had also realized that she wasn’t wearing a bra, and had to focus on not looking anywhere near… that area.

“So how’d a dork like you get this kind of body?” she said after a couple of minutes when she was down to the last two cuts.

Peter looked up at her. “Huh?”

“The spectacular pectoral muscles? The eight pack? I mean, come one. How many girls have you swoon with this?” She gestured her free hand over his torso.

He felt his cheeks redden and cleared his throat. “Uhm, none? You’re, uh, actually the first girl to see…  _ this _ . Well, except for May.”

She hummed, continuing to clean his cuts. “You didn’t answer my first question, though. How’d it happen?”

“Um, well, I guess it kinda started after i was bitten, and then-”

“You were bitten?” She looked up at him, frowning. “Bitten by what?”

“Oh, right, you don’t know that story yet. Basically, I got my powers after being bitten by a radioactive spider.”

“And where’d you find that kind of spider?”

“Remember our field trip to Oscorp freshman year?”

“Ohh. And then you didn’t go to school for a whole week.”

Peter furrowed his brows. “You remember that?”

MJ shrugged. “I’m very observant. Now, answer my question.”

“Well, yeah, so it started after the bite, and then… I guess swinging around the city and fighting criminals is a pretty good workout.”

She looked up at him and half-smiled. “You’ve got to show me that someday. The swinging, climbing walls… is that all Tony Stark, or how much do you play a part?”

“Well, the ‘web’ comes from these”, he pointed at his webshooter, “which I constructed myself before I met Tony. But the climbing walls and stuff is all me. Like, naturally.”

“That’s so awesome.” She looked back down at his body, holding the now slightly red towel above it. “I’ll go get some band-aid.”

She hung the towel over the edge of the bowl, and was just about to get up when her phone buzzed from the other side of the bed. She turned around with a small sigh and leaned over Peter to grab it, pressing her hand against his left side for support and to avoid contact with the wounds. 

He let out a loud cry at the intense pain that flared up and threw his head back against the pillow, his whole body stiffening. MJ quickly let go if him and straightened, staring down at him with wide eyes. “What’s wrong?”

Peter whimpered and squeezed his eyes shut. “Nothing, I-I just-”

“Did I touch your cuts?”

“No, it’s noth-”

He inhale sharply when MJ placed a hand over his left side again, and even though it was light as a feather it still throbbed.

She quickly withdrew her hand. “Shit, sorry.” She looked back up at him. “Peter, are… are you ribs broken?”

He bit his lip. “I don’t know”, he mumbled.

She sighed. “Did you walk all the way here with broken ribs? How long did that take you?”

He shrugged. “Not that long.”

“Well, considering the way you collapsed during your entrance I’m guessing that it was pretty fucking long.”

She stood up before he had a chance to answer, grabbed the bowl from the nightstand and walked out of the room. A minute later she returned with a small package of band-aid and sat back down. 

“It’s fine, MJ”, Peter said. “I have enhanced healing, they’ll probably have healed before you’re done.”

She sighed. “Just let me do something to help, okay?”

He wanted to say that  _ you’ve already done more than enough _ , but decided to drop it and just let her do what she wanted to. And to be honest, he did enjoy her taking care of him, even though he knew that he didn’t deserve it. 

She started working on putting the band-aid on, picking the right size for every cut and placing them with care. The room fell silent again.

“Why did you come here?” she asked when she was done, looking up into his eyes.

He looked back with uncertainty, her question making him feel a bit uneasy. “I… I can leave if you want to, I understand that this really is too much for me to ask of-”

“Peter”, she interrupted, rolling her eyes. “That’s not what I meant. Like, why didn’t you go home or call Tony? Or Ned?”

“Well, Ned’s gone with his family to his grandmother until tomorrow night, and I couldn’t call May or Tony.”

“Why?” she asked with furrowed brows. Realization then dawned on her face, and Peter knew he’d made a mistake. 

“Well, uhm, Tony’s in Japan and May’s… uh, I just didn’t want to worry her.”

“The bottle wasn’t in my backpack”, she whispered as if she hadn’t heard him. “Did they…?”

“No, uh, I hid it in my room after you left, don’t worry.”

“Don’t bullshit me, Parker”, she said, her voice now stern. “ _ Did they find it _ ?”

He bit his lip, accepted that he couldn’t lie to her and nodded.

She groaned and put her face in her hand. “Fuck.”

“Hey, don’t worry.” He hovered his hand over the one she had placed on the mattress next to him, hesitating for only a second before resting it on top, squeezing lightly. “I took the blame.”

Her head snapped up and she stared at him with a deep frown. “What?”

“I told them that I was the one who got it and then hid it in your bag.”

She stared at him for a moment and then sighed, dropping her gaze to his hand on top of hers. “You didn’t have to do that.”

He shrugged. “Getting you involved wouldn’t have eased my punishment. And I had the choice to say no, but I didn’t. It wasn’t your fault.”

She kept staring down at their hands, and after a beat she turned hers over and intertwined their fingers. She then looked up at him again, and Peter’s heart started racing. “Thank you.”

Peter nodded - or jerked his head awkwardly, rather -, and cleared his throat. He felt his cheeks getting hot from blushing. “That’s, uh, no problem.”

She looked down again, and Peter’s breath got caught in his throat when she started stroking her thumb across the back of his hand. “You’re so selfless”, she whispered after a moment of silence.

Peter didn’t know how to answer that, but he guessed that she wasn’t really expecting an answer. In response he just squeezed her hand back and started rubbing his thumb across her skin as well. Though it was a small gesture, it was still very intimate to Peter and he almost became overwhelmed with the amount of love he felt for her in that moment. He felt how he was falling even more in love with her than he had been before, if that was even possible. Perhaps it was they way he’d shown her some vulnerability, which he rarely did to anyone, and how she’d responded with acceptance and even by helping him. The fact that she would never return these feelings made his heart ache.

She then suddenly stopped moving her thumb and looked up at him. “Wait, you were punished?”

He’d completely forgotten that he’d told her that part and cleared his throat. “Uh, yeah, they’ve forbidden me from going out as Spider-Man. That’s, um, kind of why I’m here right now.”

She arched an eyebrow. “And how exactly did you manage to hide it from Tony Stark?”

He bit his lip. “Ned and I hacked into the suit.”

Her eyes widened. “Damn, you’re gonna get in  _ so _ much trouble if he finds out.”

Peter took a deep breath to sigh, but he cringed and whimpered when pained flared up in his entire left side again. God, it hurt even more now.

MJ squeezed his hand, probably as a reflex, and sighed. “Peter, if your ribs really are broken we have to take you to a doctor.”

He shook his head, eyes widening. “No, I can’t. They’ll have to call May and then she’ll find out.”

“Okay, but what’s worse? Getting grounded for a couple of weeks or fucking up your ribs?”

“I won’t. I have enhanced healing, remember? I promise they’ll be as good as new tomorrow.”

MJ pursed her lips and hesitated. “I really don’t think this is a good idea.”

“Please?” Peter begged her. “If it’s not better by tomorrow we’ll call someone. But  _ please _ don’t do it tonight, okay?”

She looked at him for a moment and then sighed with defeat. “Fine, you can stay here tonight, but if you’re not able to do backflips tomorrow without the slightest twinge I’m picking up the phone.”

Peter nodded and squeezed her hand. “ _ Thank you _ ”, he said sincerely. 

MJ nodded with a slight smile and then stood up, letting go of his hand. “Alright, let’s get ready for bed. It’s been a pretty long day.”

Peter put his hands on the mattress on either side of his body, and was about to sit up when he was stopped by a light hand on his chest.

“Whoa, what do you think you’re doing?”

He looked up at her with furrowed brows. “Going to the couch?”

She huffed. “If you can’t even breathe without whining in pain you sure as hell can’t make it to the couch.”

Peter wanted to argue, didn’t want MJ to sleep on the couch because of him, but the look in her eyes told him that discussion was not an option, so he carefully lay back down with a small sigh.

She walked over to the door, turned the lights off and then, to Peter’s surprise, walked back to the other side of the bed and climbed in.

"Don't get any ideas, Parker", she said seriously with a glare when she noticed his eyes widening. "The broken ribs can puncture your lung. I need to be close if you stop breathing or something, and the living room is too far away for me to notice if anything happens."   
He felt his heartbeat quicken and tried his hardest to ignore the  _ holy shit, she’s getting into bed next to me _ thoughts.

He narrowed his eyes with a teasing smirk. "I'm pretty sure that's not how it works. You just want an excuse to sleep next to me, right?" 

"Shut up", she laughed and nudged him in his thigh underneath the blanket. It was the first time he’d heard her laugh since he got here, and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling. 

"You didn't deny it", he mumbled, his grin widening. He earned another nudge.

"Seriously though, stay on your side." She drew an invisible line between them with her index finger. "If you roll over here your ribs won't be the only thing broken, got it?" She dropped her head to the pillow with a small smile.

"Yeah", Peter breathed, feeling the exhaustion from the long evening finally washing over him. "I'm pretty sure I can't move anyway, so don't worry."

For a second he thought he could see something like worry or empathy cross her features, but as fast as it had appeared it was gone again. 

"Well, goodnight then, dork." MJ rolled around to turn the light on her nightstand off, and curled up into a ball with her back to Peter.

He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep, but the fact that she was laying next to him and the pain in his ribs stopped him from doing so. 

After a few minutes he heard rustling from MJ’s side of the bed, and he turned his head to see that she had rolled around and was now facing Peter. He curls had already gotten even messier from moving them against the pillow and the moonlight from the window lit her face up in a breathtaking way. God, she was beautiful.

After deciding that he’d stared at her long enough for it to be creepy he moved his gaze to his own body. The suit was still pulled down, now just below the hem of his underwear. He couldn’t help feeling a bit inappropriate sleeping half naked in the same bed as MJ, so he grabbed the hem of the suit and started pulling it up.

“Don’t”, he heard from next to him. He moved his gaze to MJ and saw that her eyes were opened, and he was once again taken aback by the way the grey moonlight lit up her dark brown eyes. 

“You probably shouldn’t do that”, she spoke again, pulling him out of his trance.

“Uh, why?”

“I’m guessing there’s dried blood and sweat in there, right? That’s probably not very good against the wounds.”

Peter looked down, seeing that the inside of his suit was indeed rather dirty.

“Also”, she said, and he looked up to see the small smirk on her face. “I don’t mind looking at this.” She nodded to his naked chest and stomach.

Peter felt his cheeks getting hot, and he hoped that she couldn’t see his blush the dark room. “What?” he breathed.

He expected her to say something like  _ I’m just kidding, Peter _ , or  _ God, you blush easily _ , like she usually did, but this time she just winked and closed her eyes again.

Well, he definitely wouldn’t be able to fall asleep now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, what'd you think of this chapter? ;)  
> See ya next time!


	22. Re-breaking

Before the memories came flooding back, Peter became aware of two kinds of pressures. 

The first one was pain. Unbearable, throbbing pain, seemingly in rhythm with his breaths. As he slowly regained consciousness, he realized that it was mostly coming from his left side, which was part of what had made the memories come back.

But he felt also a less agonizing pressure. A soft warmth pressed up against his right side, creating an absurd contrast to his left. He leaned into it, trying to escape the pain, and it leaned back. He moved his head towards it, and the scent was what eventually brought back the memories. He opened his eyes, body stiffening.

She snuggled her face deeper into the crook of his neck, pressing herself against his side. Peter had his face buried in her wild curls and quickly pulled back, laying his head down on his pillow. He moved his gaze downwards and was just able to see that she had her right leg hooked around his and her knee pressed into his left thigh. 

He took a deep breath and bit back a groan when his ribs ached. God, it was even worse now than the day before.

According to their deal MJ would now be allowed to call the doctor on him, and so he decided to let her sleep to try and postpone it as long as possible - as soon as she picked her phone up it would reach Tony within a few seconds and eventually May, which would mean his death. She also deserve to sleep after the long evening, and, yes, he’d be lying if he said that he didn’t enjoy this position at least a little. He inched his head forward until his nose brushed against her scalp, his face nestled in the bundle of curls, and she sighed happily in her sleep and pressed her face deeper into his neck.

He was just about to drift off to sleep when he felt MJ’s hand creep across his naked torso, and then grab onto his left side. He bit back a groan and clenched his fists when an intense pain flared up, pulsating throughout his entire body.

No matter how much he wanted to avoid MJ waking up, he knew that he couldn’t stay like this. She dug her nails into his skin, and he couldn’t help a whimper from escaping his mouth.

He snuck his right arm from in between them and carefully grabbed her hand to peel it off his waist, trying his best not to wake her up.

Sleeping MJ, however, was having none of that, and in her protest she dug her fingers deeper into his side, making him let out a loud cry of pain.

She immediately stirred awake, blinking her eyes open and looking around the room frantically. Her gaze landed on the hand on Peter’s waist and quickly withdrew it. “Shit, sorry.”

He took a deep breath when the ache eased, but cringed and whined when the expanding of his lungs brought the pain back.

MJ quickly sat up - seemingly not too embarrassed about their position - and put a firm hand on his right shoulder. “Peter, we have to call someone.”

He clenched his jaw in an attempt to stop the whimpers from leaving his mouth and shook his head. “No, d-don’t-”

“Peter,  _ please _ ”, she cried out and put her face in her hands, taking a deep breath. “Why do you have to be so fucking stubborn?”

Peter, taken aback by her stubborn outburst, stared at her dumbfounded. “What?”

“Could you please just swallow your pride and ask for help? Allow yourself to show that you’re hurt?”

He dropped his gaze to the mattress between them, clenching his fist. “I came here”, he mumbled.

“But I can’t do much, can I?” She sighed and took her hands away to look at him. “I just want to help you.”

And it was those words that made Peter’s head spin with thoughts. It was something in what she’d said and the way she’d said it, and suddenly the questions came flooding in. Why was she so determined to help him? Why had she let him in her apartment? Why did she want to give him a hickey? Why had she started sitting next to him in the cafeteria?

And now she was staring down at him with more emotions in her eyes than he’d ever seen before, and he allowed himself to hope just the tiniest bit.

“Why?” he breathed, gazing up at her.

She opened her mouth, then closed it. A frown formed on her face, but the emotions were still there. “Because you’re hurt?”

He shook his head. “No, MJ.  _ Why _ ?”

He expected her to shrug it off then, like she did in all similar moments they had, but she just kept gazing down at him. “I don’t know what you’re talking about”, she mumbled. But she clearly did. The words might as well have been written all over her walls.

Peter knew that this was his one chance to get it out, and to maybe get a real response from MJ. Even though he had no idea what she would say, didn’t even allow himself to wonder, he knew that in this open and raw moment it would be taken more seriously and she might be able to give a real answer without brushing it off with a joke or leaving. And even if it wouldn’t lead anywhere, he really wanted them to have this moment of vulnerability between them.

He lay his hand on top of hers but didn’t move his gaze from her eyes, scared that whatever was in them would leave the second he looked away. “Yes you do. Just… please, say something.”

He could see the debate going on in her head whether she wanted to do this or not. She sighed, but to his relief kept gazing down at him. She huffed out a small laugh. “I take back what I said before. This shit is really hard.”

He smiled softly. “I know.”

It felt as though they were trapped in this bubble, isolating them from the rest of the world, the walls breakable but growing stronger and stronger for each passing second, and soon there would be no turning back.

She bit her lip and quickly glanced down at their hands before looking back up again. Then she started pulling her hand from his grip and leaned back, clearly about to get off the bed.

Peter grabbed her wrist softly and gave it a light tug. “Michelle, please.”

The use of her actual name made her stopped and she looked back at him. After a few seconds the look in her eyes came back and she settled down next to him again.

“I can’t”, she whispered, almost pleadingly.

“Then I’ll do it”, he whispered back, as if speaking too loudly would break the walls in their bubble.

He waited for her reaction, and she gave him a short nod as her shoulders slumped slightly.

He sighed, still keeping the grip on her wrist, scared to let her go.

“I… I’m in love with you, Michelle.”

When the words had left his mouth it felt as if they took a weight off his shoulder with them. His secret was out. He had nothing else hidden from her. He had opened himself up completely to her, and it felt good, better than he’d thought. He felt no embarrassment or awkwardness whatsoever. Now he just had to wait for her response, and he knew that he could deal with whatever she said to him. 

She stared at him for what could’ve been two seconds or two hours, he face expressionless. Eventually she moved the hand that wasn’t currently in Peter’s grip and hesitantly cupped his right cheek. He put his free hand over hers, encouraging her to continue.

She gazed down at him intently, her thumb stroking his cheekbone lightly, before taking a deep, shuddering breath and saying, “Me too.”

The bubble popped. 

Peter stared at her, confused, still not really understanding what she had just said. “What?” he breathed.

She gave him that fucking amazing half-smile, and it was as if he saw it for the first. “Don’t expect a sappy speech about how I’ve had these feelings for a long time and how happy you make me, etcetera.”

Peter huffed. “Would you be mad if I gave one?”

“Probably, yeah.”

They looked at each other in silence and it was then starting to sink in for Peter. MJ returned his feelings for her. The odd balance he’d felt between them from thinking that the love was one-sided disappeared, and touching and talking to her suddenly felt so easy and so  _ good _ that he almost laughed out loud.

She then leaned forward until her forehead was pressed against his, her hand still cupping his cheek. He was shocked by how impossibly better the intimacy between them felt now that he didn’t have to worry about her being too drunk, messing with him or liking it for different reasons than him. 

God, he wanted to kiss her so badly. But he felt like they had more to resolve, and wanted to wait for the perfect moment. He was now even more glad that he hadn’t kissed her during their sleepover.

“So”, he mumbled, trying to keep his tone light despite the euphoria within him. “You’re in love with me, huh?”

She huffed, and he was overwhelmed by how amazing even her breath smelled. “I guess I am.” She brushed her nose against his. 

“How long have you known?”

It took her a second to answer. “I guess I’ve known on some level for a while, but I’ve never admitted it to myself until now. And you?”

“Kind of similar, but I actually realized it a while ago. Ned has been teasing me about it forever though.”

She huffed out a laugh. “Actually, now that I think about it, you didn’t hide it very well. I’m surprised I never noticed.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“I guess you being all awkward and stuttering wasn’t much of a difference.”

They both laughed, and then the room fell silent again, though it wasn’t even close to being awkward. MJ was rubbing her thumb across his cheekbone, and Peter was rubbing the back of her hand. His forehead was starting to ache from having hers pressed against it, but the scent of her face and breaths more than made up for it.

“So… what happens now?” he whispered.

MJ’s thumb stilled and she lifted her head, hovering it a few inches above his. There was a red mark in the middle of her forehead, and Peter guessed that he had the same.

She shrugged. “I guess… I’m your girlfriend now? If you want to.”

Peter nodded, staring up at her in amazement. “Of course.”

She smiled, and it went silent again.

“So… what do girlfriends and boyfriends usually do together?”

Peter frowned slightly, confused about what she was hinting at, until she arched an eyebrow at him and it finally clicked. “Oh.”

“Yep. So, you’re gonna make the first move or not?”

With a shaky hand he gently cupped her cheek and pulled her closer to him. She put both her hands on either side of his face, holding it firmly.

Their lips were just about to brush against each other when the bedroom door flew open, hitting the wall with a loud  _ bang _ .

They both froze, startled, and MJ quickly straightened. Both gazes turned toward the door, and Peter had a  _ deja vú _ .

There, in the door frame, stood Tony Stark in all his glory. 

He apparently didn’t notice, or just ignored, the intimacy between the teenagers, and his gaze immediately went to Peter, his eyes dark.

MJ was the first one to speak. “Hey, how’d you get in here?”

Tony glanced at her for a second before returning his eyes to Peter, obviously not planning on answering. 

“Okay, before you go all batshit crazy on him you should know that his ribs are broken and he needs medical attention.”

That made Tony’s eyes widen and frown deepen. He made his way over to Peter’s side of the bed and leaned over him. “Which side?” he demanded. 

He flicked his left hand and Tony placed his hands over the ribs, making Peter let out a loud cry of pain. He quickly pulled them back.

“When did you break them?”

He inhaled and bit his lip. “Last night.”

Tony snapped his head up and stared at him, his eyes still dark.

Peter couldn’t stand his disappointing glare and dropped his gaze to MJ’s legs next to his. “How’d you find me?” he mumbled. 

“When you didn’t answer my calls or text I decided to call Ned this morning, but since I’m not an idiot I called his mother.”

Peter kept his gaze down, fidgeting with the sheets. “And how’d you know I was here?”

“It wasn’t hard to guess.”

He looked up, and saw that Tony was still inspecting his ribs without touching them. 

“I’m taking you to the tower”, he decided, standing up. “You’re lucky Bruce has just moved in.” He looked at MJ, who was sitting against the wall with her legs stretched out, and nodded down at Peter. “Help me turn him around.”

MJ nodded and leaned forward to gently hook her arms under his armpits while Tony grabbed his legs, and together turned Peter’s body around so that Tony could put his arms underneath him and lift him up without touching his ribs. Peter, extremely embarrassed and ashamed about having to be moved around and carried, hissed when the motion still made his left side throb. He looked over at MJ, who was sitting on her legs at the end of the bed. She had furrowed brows and slightly widened eyes filled with worry.

“Call me when you’re better”, she said softly when Tony started walking toward the door.

Peter lifted his head and gave her a nod, and an awkward wave he instantly regretted. 

She gave him a small half-smile and mouthed something that he could only interpret as  _ dork number one _ . 

 

-

 

“Bad news, Peter”, Bruce said with a sigh, taking his glasses off and placing them on his head. “It seems as though because you didn’t contact someone about your injury earlier the ribs have healed wrong.”

Peter looked up at the doctor with widened eyes and the hand on his shoulder gave him a comforting squeeze. He looked over to his other side where Tony stood next to the cot he was laying on. The man had made it clear on their way to the tower that he’d save the scolding until they’d fixed Peter up, which he was grateful for. 

“How is that possible?” Tony asked demandingly. “They’ve only been broken for a couple of hours.”

“We might have underestimated his enhanced healing.” He looked down at Peter with a stern face, though still filled with worry. “Next time this stuff happens you have to call someone immediately.”

“Yeah yeah, I’m gonna have that talk with him later. So now what? You’re gonna prep for a surgery?”

Peter looked up at Tony again and he gave him another comforting squeeze. 

Bruce pursed his lips and scratched the back of his neck. “Well, here’s the thing… I’ll have to re-break the bones so that they can heal correctly, but…”

Tony looked up at him. “But what?”

He took a deep breath. “With Peter’s high metabolism it’d take up to an hour to give him proper anesthesia without overdosing him, and before then his ribs might have healed even more incorrectly.”

Tony furrowed his brows. “So what are you going to do?”

The doctor sighed and looked very tired when he moved his gaze to Peter. “Some of the ribs need to be corrected immediately. I’ll have to break them now, and then I’ll give you anesthesia for surgery where I’ll fix the rest of them.”

Peter’s eyes widened even more, and he felt Tony move his hand from his shoulder to the back of his head. “Now?”

Bruce looked pained as he gave him a short nod. “I’ll give you as much morphine as I can, but your body burns it unusually fast and I can’t give you too much at once.”

He walked over to the other side of the room to gather some things, and Peter looked up at Tony with a panicked expression. The man ruffled his hair and tried to give him a comforting smile, but it just turned into a grimace. “Don’t worry kid, it’ll be over before you know it.”

“How is he even going to… you know, break them?”

He put his free hand on Peter’s upper arm. “Hey, don’t think about that, okay? It’ll hurt for a minute and then it’ll be over and you can call your girlfriend to tell her that everything went well.”

He knew that Tony just used the word ‘girlfriend’ to tease him like he normally did, but now the term was actually used correctly, and the memories of that morning actually helped Peter feel a bit better. When all this was over he could get back to MJ and they’d… continue where they left off. 

Eventually Bruce came back, pushing a table full of equipement Peter didn’t dare to look at and a curtain that was longer than the cot he was laying on.

“Alright, Peter”, he said as he placed to table next to the head of the cot. “I’ll drape this curtain over you so that you don’t have to see what I’m doing, okay?”

Peter nodded and tilted his head to the right when Bruce adjusted the drapery so that it went across the middle of his body, and he could now not see the man on his left. 

“I’m just going to give you some morphine”, he said from the other side of the fabric, and Peter felt the man grab his left arm and stick a needle in it. He was starting to sweat and he felt his heart rate increase. 

He looked back up at Tony when he felt the drug starting to spread throughout his body, having little to no effect on him. “I don’t think I can do this”, he whispered, panicked.

Tony ruffled his hair. “It’ll be over before you know it, kid.”

He closed his eyes and leaned into Tony’s hand, trying to shut everything out and maybe even drift off to sleep.

After about a minute of Bruce doing some light work on him he finally spoke. “Okay, are you ready, Peter?”

Peter took a deep breath, ignoring the burning ache, and gritted his teeth. “Yes”, he croaked.

“Alright, I’ll go on three.”

Peter, too busy to focus on shutting everything out didn’t hear the countdown, and then felt pressure against his ribs before hot, white pain spread throughout his entire body. He didn’t hear himself scream, but felt a hand squeezing his and a forehead against the top of his head.

He was then blinking his eyes open, the curtain now gone and Tony sitting on a chair next to him, still holding his hand in a firm grip. His body still ached but it was a bit more dull now, bearable.

He tilted his head to the side, the motion making him a bit dizzy. “What happened?” he mumbled.

“You blacked out for a second there”, Tony answered, and lifted his free hand to comb his fingers through Peter’s hair. “You’ve been in and out of it for a few minutes, and Bruce thought that he might as well start giving you the anesthesia.”

Peter hummed, and now noticed the doctor standing next to him on the other side. “You’re having the surgery know?” 

“Yeah, might as well get it over with. You okay?”

Peter hummed again, feeling the ache ease more and more for each passing second.

A couple of minutes later Bruce announced that Peter was already about to fall asleep, which he didn’t have any objections to.

“Tony?” Peter mumbled, eyes already closed as he fought against unconsciousness. 

He felt a hand through his hair. “Yeah, kid?”

“Could you call MJ and tell her I’m okay?”

The hand stilled. “Of course”, Tony said after a beat. 

And with that Peter let himself drift off to sleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am in no way a qualified doctor, and all kinds of medical 'facts' I've used in here come from Google searches :)  
> See ya next time!


	23. Phone calls

“You call MJ?” Peter mumbled the second he returned to consciousness, it being the first thought that came to his mind.

Tony’s hand - well, he guessed it was Tony’s at least - stilled on his head when he realised the boy was awake, though still had his fingers tangled in the messy curls. “I did. She wanted me to tell you that she misses you, and then quickly added that she would sue me for walking into her apartment without permission.”

Peter hummed and leaned into Tony’s touch, who still rested his hand heavily against to side of his head.

“You wanna explain that?”

Peter just exhaled, already drifting off to sleep again.

“You’re smiling”, Tony noticed. “And blushing.”

He sighed happily, unbothered by Tony’s teasing, only caring about the fact that  _ MJ missed him _ .

Tony started running his hand through Peter’s hair again, and he was about to fall back asleep when a throbbing pain from his left side made itself known, and the memories of his incorrectly healed ribs and the surgery came back to him. He also noticed that he had been moved to a hospital bed. 

He whined when the throbbing kept increasing, and the hand on his head stilled. “Are you in pain?”

Peter shook his head, not wanting to be more of a burden than he already was, but Tony clearly ignored him. “F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell bruce to come down here. And to bring painkillers.”

“I’m fine”, Peter mumbled.

“Your ribs are still broken and healing, Peter. You’re obviously in pain.”

He sighed, but cringed when it made his ribs throb even more. Tony started stroking his head again and mumbled low, comforting words until Bruce appeared a minute later.

“So how you doing, Peter?” the doctor asked as he walked over to his other side, glancing at the machines around him. “I figured the painkillers would’ve worn off by now.”

“How long has it been since the surgery?” Peter mumbled, looking at Bruce in his peripheral vision instead of moving his head towards him, scared that Tony would take his hand away if he did. 

“About three hours. I’m just gonna…” He carefully lifted his shirt, which Peter noticed was one of Tony’s band tees, to check his ribs. “Yeah, it looks good here”, he mumbled. “Uh, yeah, I’m actually a bit surprised you were able to sleep this long, considering your metabolism would’ve burned everything I gave you at least an hour ago.”

Peter turned his gaze back to Tony, furrowing his eyebrows. “You’ve been here for three hours?”

The man ignored him, looking up at Bruce. “So you got something for him?”

Bruce checked his watch and hummed. “We should probably wait another half hour, I don’t want to risk giving him an overdose.”

“But he’s in pain”, Tony argued, his voice now more stern. “The drugs are out of his system.”

Bruce sighed. “I’m sorry, Tony, but we have to wait.” He turned his gaze to Peter. “You think you’ll be alright for another half hour?”

Peter nodded, even though his ribs has started aching like hell. He knew the doctor had the best judgement, and he also definitely did not want to stress him out by begging for painkillers. 

“Alright, I’ll be back soon. You should probably give him some water, Tony. There’s some in the refrigerator over there.”

Bruce left, and Tony quickly got out of his chair to get the water. When he was back a second later he took the cap off and handed the bottle to Peter who gratefully accepted it, not realising until now how thirsty he was.

“So”, Peter started after he’d downed half the bottle with Tony eyeing him warily. “What’s, um, happening now?”

“Well”, Tony said, placing the bottle on the small table next to him. “You’re going to stay here until your ribs fully heal.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Stay here? Like not going to school?”

Tony nodded.

“How long will that take?”

He shrugged. “Bruce guesses it’ll take at least three days, if we’re lucky.”

Peter furrowed his brows. “Can’t I stay at home, in the apartment?”

“I think it’s better if we stay here, kid, where all the equipment and Bruce are.” His voice was a bit softer now, and he started running his fingers through his hair again. “I’ll stay here with you, and May will come over with her bags as soon as she finishes work. She wanted to call in sick to be here with you, but I convinced her not to, since you’ll probably sleep most of the day anyways.”

Peter was glad to hear that, not wanting May to skip work, but still felt a bit bad that she was stressing so much and was going to temporarily move to the tower because of him.

“Speaking of”, Tony started, his voice firm again. “Just a heads up, when we get back home you, your aunt and I are going to have a  _ very _ long chat about your behaviour last night.”

Peter bit his lip and looked down at the AC/DC logo on his borrowed shirt. “I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, we’ll talk about that later. Just focus on healing for now.”

He nodded, still keeping his gaze down.

The minutes passed in silence, and the ache in Peter’s ribs grew. Tony kept combing his fingers through his curls, which was very calming.

Though it did nothing to still his guilt. His stomach was practically turning with it, and he almost felt nauseous. Yes, he’d known before going out last night that he was breaking Tony and May’s rules, but he was sure that they would never find out, and if they did he didn’t think it would be such a big deal. But now he’d hurt himself,  _ badly _ , and May was so worried to the point where she almost skipped work, which she  _ never _ did unless she was sick. He’d worried May so many times lately, yet he still kept putting himself in situations where he got hurt without hesitating for even a second. And this time he hadn’t worried only May, but also Tony and MJ. God, he was selfish. 

“Are you crying?” Tony said, bringing Peter back to reality. “Are you in pain?”

Peter shook his head, even though he  _ was _ , but that wasn’t the reason why the tears started streaming down his face.

“I’m sorry”, he sobbed, putting his hands to his face as he suddenly started crying uncontrollably. He knew deep down that crying in front of Tony like this was embarrassing, but the pain and guilt completely overshadowed all his other emotions. 

He felt an arm sneaking in underneath his back and then he was being carefully lifted up into a warm chest. He wrapped his arms around Tony, burrowing his face in his shirt and soaking it with tears.

“It’s okay, Peter”, Tony mumbled, rubbing his back and pressing his face against his head. “We’re not  _ that _ mad, we were just worried about you.”

“Th-that’s the p-problem!” Peter choked out, fisting the shirt on Tony’s back. “I-I’m so selfish.”

Tony sighed. “You’re not selfish, Peter. You’re probably the most selfless person I know, and I know you didn’t intend to worry us. Now please try to calm down.” 

“I-I’m sorry I made you come all the way back from Japan and m-miss your meeting.”

He just hushed him and held him closer. 

After a few minutes of Tony rubbing his back and whispering comforting words Peter finally managed to calm down, but when he took a deep breath to compose himself he whimpered from the pain.

“I think it’s time to call Bruce back down”, Tony said as he carefully lay Peter down on the mattress again. 

Peter wiped the tears from his face with the heel of his palm. “Can I just, um, call MJ first?”

Tony arched an eyebrow at him. “Now? Right after you’ve had a cry fest and are in so much pain you need drugs?”

He bit his lip. “I really have to talk to her.”

“I spoke with her a couple of hours ago.”

“Please?”

Tony sighed and reached over to the table to grab Peter’s phone. “Alright, but make it quick so that you can get your painkillers, fall asleep, and heal properly.” He handed him his phone.

Peter quickly unlocked it and found her contact, but hesitated right as he was about to press it, glancing up at Tony. “Could you, uh, step out for a minute? Please?”

He raised his eyebrows. “This isn’t the perfect time for inappropriate phone calls, you know.”

“No! I didn’t- I mean, I just…”

He smirked, reaching over to ruffle his hair as he stood up. “I’m just messing with you, kid. I’ll give you and your girlfriend some privacy.”

As soon as the door to the next room shut behind Tony, Peter immediately dialed MJ’s number and held the phone to his ear, holding his breath. This was the first time he actually called her.

“ _ Peter _ ”, he heard her say with a sigh after the second signal. “ _ Are you okay? _ ”

Hearing her voice instantly made him feel better, and he started grinning despite the pain he was in. “I’m fine. I had surgery a couple of hours ago to fix my ribs… and I just remembered that Tony already told you that.”

She huffed out a small laugh. “ _ Dork. So you’re feeling better? _ ”

“Yeah, I am.”

“ _ Good. _ ”

It went silent, and Peter listened to MJ’s breaths through the phone. God, how he wished she was laying next to him.

“I miss you too”, he whispered after a beat.

Her breathing stopped momentarily. “ _ I’m gonna kick Tony’s ass for taking you away. _ ”

He chuckled. “Didn’t you want me to get medical attention?”

“ _ I did, but I just needed a few more seconds. Or minutes, preferably. _ ”

Peter felt his cheeks getting hot from the memory of what was about to happen before Tony stormed in that morning. 

“So, uh, it’s official then?” he said after another beat of silence. “You and me, I mean.”

She laughed. “ _ Yeah? Unless you’re already breaking up with me. _ ”

“No, of course not! I just, um, the medication made me a bit dizzy and I wasn’t sure whether that actually happened or not.” He bit his lip, and added, “It’s almost too good to be true.”

He could almost  _ hear _ her rolling her eyes through the phone. “ _ God, Peter, don’t be such a cliché. _ ” 

He smiled. “I’m sorry, I can’t help it.”

Tony then walked back into the room. “Alright kid, time for your nap. Say goodbye.”

“I’ve got to go”, he said, lowering his voice slightly.

“ _ Call me as soon as you can, okay? _ ”

He smirked. “Wow, desperate much?”

She laughed. “ _ Shut up, dork. _ ”

He laughed back. “I will though, I promise. Bye.”

“ _ Bye. _ ”

He handed Tony his phone, who put it back on the small table. “So you wanna tell me what’s going on between the two of you?” He sat down on the chair next to the bed. “We can’t keep pretending that thing on Friday didn’t happen.”

Peter felt his cheeks getting hot, a bit taken aback by Tony being so forthright. “I, uhm…”

Tony chuckled. “Don’t sweat it, kid.” He ruffled his hair again. “Just know that if you have any problems or questions about that stuff, you can always come to me. And May too, obviously.”

Peter nodded, and despite still being a bit embarrassed he felt his chest getting warm from Tony’s words. 

“Alright, let’s get Brucie Bear down here.”

Fifteen minutes later Peter had gotten enough painkillers for the pain to finally ease and he was starting to drift off to sleep. Tony was running his hand through his hair again, speaking lowly. “May will be here when you wake up again.”

Peter hummed, closing his eyes and leaning into Tony’s hand.

“Her and I will sleep in here too.”

He cracked an eye open. “You don’t have to do that”, he mumbled.

“I don’t think you aunt would be able to sleep in our room if she knew that you were laying down here all alone with your ribs broken.”

Peter did know that, and it made the guilt set in his stomach again.

“Hey”, Tony said softly. “Don’t worry about it, okay? Just relax and go to sleep, let yourself heal.”

And with Tony’s hand as a reassuring weight on his head Peter was able to drift off to a restful sleep. 

 

-

 

The next time Peter woke up May was there, immediately embracing him in a soft hug. He apologized to her as well, but just like Tony she hushed him and only held him closer.

It then turned 9, and they decided to bring some dinner down for Peter since he hadn’t eaten all day. They started a small argument about who should go up to get it and who should stay down here with him. 

“Why don’t you both go?” Peter chimed in, and they both turned to look at him, May from the chair next to the bed and Tony from the small couch a few feet down. “You guys probably want to use the bathroom and take a shower, I’ll be fine.” He looked down at his shirt and started fidgeting with the hem of it. “And also I’m… uh, I’d like to make a phone call.”

May reached over to grab his hand, stroking her thumb lightly over his knuckles. “Who are you going to call? You just spoke to Ned, didn’t you?”

Tony cleared his throat, making both Peter and May turn their heads towards him. He raised an eyebrow and smirked.

“Oh”, May said, looking back at Peter again with a smile. “Of course. Just let us know when you’re done, okay?”

Peter nodded, feeling a small blushing starting to spread, as May stood up.

“We won’t be gone for more than twenty minutes though”, she added as she grabbed Tony’s hand to help him stand up from the couch. “So don’t get into a too deep conversation.”

“Yeah, yeah”, Peter mumbled, watching them make their way to the elevator.

Right as the doors opened, Tony turned back around. “If there’s anything, just notify F.R.I.D.A.Y. and we’ll be down in a minute.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “I think I can be alone for twenty minutes. But thanks, I will.”

As soon as the elevator made the  _ ping _ sound as the door were being closed, he reached his arm out and scrambled for his phone on the small table next to him. He would’ve rolled over to find it even quicker, but he still had a hard time moving. 

She answered on the second ring this time as well. “ _ How’s my sleeping beauty? _ ”

He laughed, already feeling much better from hearing her voice. “I’m sorry, but they just left, and I, uh, didn’t really want to call you while they were here.”

“ _ Yeah no it’s fine, I get it. I wouldn’t really want them to eavesdrop either. _ ”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought. So is your family back yet?”

“ _ No, they’ll be back tomorrow. _ ”

“Oh, okay.”

They went silent then, just listening to the other person breath. Peter closed his eyes and imagined her laying next to him, actually breathing into his ear as she embraced him in her soft arms.

“ _ I miss you _ ”, she mumbled after a moment, and even though he could hear the slight hesitation there was no doubt that her words were sincere.

He smiled and bit his lip. “I miss you too.”

“ _ I just… _ ” She sighed. “ _ This isn’t exactly what I would’ve guessed our first days as a couple being like. _ ”

“Yeah, me neither”, he breathed. “I’m sorry.”

She huffed. “ _ God Peter, can you stop apologizing for everything? _ ” He could hear the slight annoyance, even though he knew there was no real heat behind it.

“Sorry”, he said teasingly.

She sighed. “ _ You’re going to drive me insane. _ ”

He huffed out a small laugh, and thought about how happy he was that they could still keep their small bantering between them even as a… couple.

“ _ Actually… _ ”, she said after a beat, her voice having a different tone to it. “ _ You’re kind of driving me insane in a different way too. _ ”

“Yeah?” he said, not really sure what she was talking about.

“ _ Yeah. Ever since you left this morning I haven’t been able stop thinking about what could’ve happened if you had stayed a bit longer. _ ”

“Oh”, was all he managed to get out.

“ _ I actually thought about it in the shower earlier. _ ” Her voice was lower now, rougher.

He gulped. “R-really?”

“ _ I imagined you being there with me. _ ”

He took a deep breath, ignoring the pain in his ribs. “Okay.”

“ _ And it was all hot and steamy in there. _ ” He swore he could hear her voice getting more and more shallow as she spoke.

“ _ And we were feeling each other up… _ ”

He tilted his head back slightly as the image appeared behind his closed eyes. “Yeah?”

He could hear her exhale, and he bit his lip. “ _ Are you hard right now? _ ” she breathed, her voice hoarse.

He opened his mouth to answer when the elevator doors opened, and he briefly wondered if he’d pissed someone in the universe off enough to deserve this curse of him and MJ constantly being interrupted by Tony and May.

“ _ Are you? _ ” MJ demanded in his ear, and he propped himself up on one elbow and cleared his throat.

“Hey Tony and May!” he exclaimed, and MJ stopped breathing for a second. 

“ _ Of course _ ”, she muttered, as May flashed him a smile and Tony arched an eyebrow at him. “ _ I’ll call you tomorrow, okay? _ ”

“Uh, yeah sure. Bye.” He waited for her to hang up before setting the phone down on the table.

“I hope we didn’t interrupt anything”, Tony said with a smirk.

“No, we just, uh…” he scratched his neck.

“We brought you a couple of sandwiches”, May said, thankfully changing the subject. “I know you probably don’t have much of an appetite right now, but please try to eat at least a little bit.”

So Peter did, and he actually managed to get down a whole sandwich. Not having moved all day and constantly being in pain must’ve been the causes of his loss of appetite, but he ate anyways to try and ease at least some of May and Tony’s stress. When they had all finished eating they helped Peter stand up so that he could go to the bathroom - which hurt a lot, but was still bearable - and then they all got ready for bed. A bigger, normal bed had been moved into the room for Tony and May to sleep in.

“You guys really don’t have to sleep down here”, Peter mumbled as they were preparing their bed. “I’ll be fine.”

“Nonsense”, May said as she walked up to him, sitting down on the edge of the bed next to his waist. “We’ll stay here with you.”

She reached down to run her fingers through his hair, and Peter leaned into it as he felt the exhaustion of the day washing over him, despite him having done practically nothing. 

He felt the mattress dip on the other side of him as well and another hand settling on his shoulder. “Goodnight, kid. Just wake us up if you need anything, okay?”

He hummed. “Goodnight mom and dad”, he mumbled, already half asleep, before completely drifting off. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So the next couple of weeks will be crazy for me with dance shows, homework, job ect., but I'll still try to update weekly :)  
> See ya next time!


	24. Healed

Peter was woken up by a soft hand on his head, and he sighed before cracking an eye open. May was standing in front of him, and he glanced to his left to see Tony still laying in their bed, fast asleep. The room was still dark, though a few rays of sunlight lit it up enough for him to see clearly with the lights off.

“I just wanted to tell you that I’m heading to work, but I’ll be back right after I’m done”, she whispered, running her hand through his hair.

“Have you told Tony?” he mumbled, opening both his eyes now.

“I have, but he fell right asleep after.” She smiled. “Just wake him up if you need anything, okay?”

He nodded. “What time is it?”

“Six. I managed to get an earlier shift so that I won’t be back too late.”

He frowned. “You didn’t have to do that.”

She brushed the hair from his forehead. “I don’t mind, sweetie. It’s still the same amount of hours.”

Peter hummed and she leaned forward to press a kiss to his forehead. “I’ll see you at around 3:30. Heal as much as you can before I get back, okay?”

“Yeah. Love you.”

“I love you too.”

She got in the elevator, and Peter immediately thought about calling MJ before she went to school. He grabbed his phone and checked the time.  _ 6:07 _ . Since her first class was at 8, then maybe it was best to wait a little to make sure she had gotten up. Considering she never used makeup or did anything special with her hair he guessed she didn’t need much time in the morning. 

He occupied himself with his phone until it was just before 7, and then called her. He glanced over to where Tony was still fast asleep, and reminded himself to speak a bit lower than usual.

“ _ Hey _ ”, she muttered, and he heard the tiredness seep through her voice. 

“Hi”, he whispered. “Uh, did I wake you?”

“ _ No, I got up half an hour ago. Why? _ ”

“You sound tired.”

“ _ Well, if you didn’t know, some people are usually tired in the mornings, smartass _ ”, she spat, and then sighed. “ _ Sorry, I get really grumpy too _ .”

He breathed a small laughed, not at all bothered by her outburst, thinking it was rather cute actually. “Good to know.”

She hummed. “ _ Plan on spending a lot of mornings with me, Parker? _ ”

He shrugged even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “If you want me to.”

“ _ Oh, I do. You never answered my question yesterday, by the way. _ ”

He was confused for a second, but then glanced over to Tony snoring in his bed and groaned. “They came in  _ just _ as you asked that.”

She huffed out a laugh. “ _ I heard. So, did you? Get hard, I mean.” _

He bit his lip. “Are you asking to tease me or do you- does it… uh-”

“ _ Turn me on? _ ”

He gulped. “Uh, yeah.”

She was quiet for a beat. “ _ Wanna know a secret? _ ”

“Sure.”

“ _ I got really fucking turned on when you got a boner in the cafeteria. _ ”

His eyes widened and he couldn’t help quickly glancing at Tony. “You- uh, really?”

“ _ Yeah. And I wanna get off before going to school, so answer my question. _ ”

He breathed an awkward laugh. “You have no chill at all, you know that?”

“ _ Yeah, I do. _ ” He could hear her smile through the phone. “ _ But you’re my boyfriend, so I don’t have to hide that from you. _ ”

He smiled widely. “You don’t.” He then bit his lip. “And to answer your question… yeah.”

“ _ You got hard? _ ”

“A bit.” 

“ _ A bit? _ ”

“Well I, uh, got… kinda hard?”

She hummed. “ _ So what would it take to get you very hard? _ ”

He exhaled, deciding to just let go and go with it. “I don’t know. What would you be up for doing?”

“ _ Wow, Peter”, she said with a small huff, sounding impressed.  _ “ _ What would you like me to do? _ ”

“I…” He sighed. “I can’t do this.”

“ _ C’mon, just try. What usually turns you on? _ ”

“Well, uh…” His cheeks reddened. “I really liked it when you used to, um, touch my thigh.”

“ _ Really? Cus’ you always looked a bit terrified. _ ”

He rolled his eyes. “Do you want me to do this or not?”

She breathed a laugh. “ _ Okay, I’ll go. So you like it when I touch your thigh, huh? _ ”

“Yeah.”

“ _ What if I went a little higher next time? My hand slowly making its way up your leg to your inner thigh. _ ”

He closed his eyes and exhaled. 

“ _ Carefully trailing my fingers to in between your legs. _ ”

He bit his lip. 

“ _ Would you like that? _ ”

“Yeah, I would”, he breathed, hoarsely, gripping the sheets with his free hand. 

“Who you talking to?” he heard someone grunt from next to him. His eyes immediately opened and he propped himself up on an elbow to look over at Tony sitting up in his bed, rubbing his eyes. 

“Just, uh, MJ”, he answered, feeling a blush spread. “Did I wake you up? I-I’m sorry.”

He heard MJ groan through the phone. 

“No it’s fine, kid”, he said, yawning. 

Peter put the phone to his ear again and turned his head away from Tony. “Call me during lunch or something, okay?”

She sighed. “ _ Great, now I’m gonna have the biggest boner during school. _ ”

He bit his lip to hide a grin. “Miss you”, he whispered, glancing over to see Tony already busy with his phone. 

“ _ Miss you too. You better heal soon so that I can take all this built up tension out on you. _ ”

He gulped. “Uh, yeah, I promise.”

They hung up, and as he put his phone back on the table Tony stood up from the bed with a low grunt. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“No pain?”

He took a deep breath, and was positively surprised that not too much hurt. He smiled. “All good.”

Tony smiled back. “Good, we’re making progress then. Well, I’m gonna head to the common floor to see if Steve’s made some breakfast and steal some for us.”

Peter nodded, and Tony made his way to the elevator but stopped right before stepping in, turning back around to face him. “And Peter?”

“Hm?”

He smirked. “You’re red as a beet.”

Peter felt himself get impossibly redder, and Tony chuckled as he stepped into the elevator. 

 

-

 

Peter was sure that he was healed by Monday night, but Tony and Bruce insisted on keeping him in the med bay another day. 

“But I’m fine”, Peter whined. 

“Just because it doesn’t hurt doesn’t mean it’s healed”, Tony pointed out from next to his bed as May ran her hand through his hair. “Also, the earlier you get out of here, the earlier we’ll  _ talk _ .”

That stopped Peter from arguing any more, and he settled with quietly pouting in his bed. 

By the time Tuesday afternoon arrived Peter was so eager to get out of the bed he couldn’t stay still in it. He’d been allowed to sit up since that morning, but he’d only ever gotten up when going to the bathroom, and even though he had barely felt anything last time he was still instructed to stay in bed. 

“Peter”, Tony sighed from the chair next to him, tablet in lap as he tried to work. “You’re going to re-break your ribs again if you keep twisting like that.”

“But I’m bored”, he whined, all too aware that the sounded like a child.

“Then call your girlfriend”, Tony said with a shrug as he looked down at his tablet again, without a hint of teasing in his voice.

Peter and MJ had spoken over the phone numerous times these last couple of days, each phone call getting more dirty than the last, and if they weren’t interrupted by her family or his, he usually had to stop it because he got too embarrassed. They obviously talked about other things too - sometimes for up to an hour if they got to be alone for that long -, but she seemed to always want to end it on that note. 

He told her once, hesitantly and while feeling a bit embarrassed, that he wondered if what they were doing was wrong since they hadn’t even kissed yet, but she just laughed and said that if it wasn’t for Tony they would’ve  _ definitely  _ kissed by then. 

“ _ And we’re allowed to do what we want, when we want to _ ”, she had added. “ _ There are no rules to this sort of stuff. _ ” 

Peter had smiled slightly at that, quickly glancing at the door to the next room he had once again asked Tony to go through. “Yeah, you’re right.”

“ _ As long as we’re both comfortable with it, of course. And you’re comfortable, right? You have to tell me otherwise. _ ”

“Yeah, yeah, I am. I just… I get a bit embarrassed sometimes, I’m not really used to this stuff.”

The rest of that talk had been borderline phone sex, and Peter had almost actually  _ done  _ something while listening to her speak before May had come through the elevator doors.

“I know what you mean by built up tension now”, Peter had breathed into his phone on Monday night, keeping his voice to a whisper as Tony and May lay asleep in the bed next to him. “You’re driving me insane too.”

She had breathed a small laugh. “ _ Glad I’m not alone in this. _ ”

“I can’t wait to see you again.”

“ _ Me neither. _ ”

It was now Tuesday night, and while Tony and May were asleep Peter was still wide awake, too excited about going to school and meeting MJ in the morning to be able to go to sleep. He had been allowed to walk around the room earlier that evening, and after convincing Bruce that it didn’t hurt at all the doctor had decided that he was allowed to go to school the following day, and Peter was over the moon, calling MJ immediately to tell her the good news (after kicking everyone out of the room, of course).

His phone suddenly started vibrating then, and he quickly grabbed it off the table before it woke Tony or May up. 

“Hey”, he whispered, slightly worried about MJ calling him past midnight. “Are you okay?”

“ _ Yeah, I’m fine. Did I wake you? _ ”

“No, I couldn’t sleep, actually.”

“ _ Me neither. _ ”

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Why not?” He couldn’t imagine her being too excited or nervous about anything to be able to sleep.

There was a slight pause. “ _ I was just wondering if you had told anyone about us yet. _ ”

Peter arched an eyebrow. “Uh, no. I haven’t told Tony and May, and I wanted to tell Ned in person. I’ve told him about Friday and Saturday morning though, but not, um, this. Have you?”

“ _ No, and I’d, um, like to keep it that way. _ ”

He stopped breathing for a second, and he felt his chest tighten at her words. “Why?” he whispered, not allowing himself to speculate without asking her first.

“ _ I mean, it’s not like I’m ashamed or anything, definitely not. _ ” She let out a small laugh, and Peter relaxed slightly. 

“What is it then?”

“ _ I just… _ ” She sighed. “ _ Okay, so you know how I’m pretty bad with feelings and stuff? _ ”

“Yeah?” he asked, wondering where she was going with this.

“ _ Like, admitting I liked you was pretty much the hardest thing I’ve ever fucking done. And expressing my feelings for you is still hard even now, and I think I have to get a little more used to it before everyone knows about us and starts shoving it in our faces, you know? _ ”

Peter understood her. He understood how hard this was for her since she was so used to constantly keeping a wall up and being cold to everyone, and that she needed time to get comfortable with it around Peter before having to talk about their relationship with others.

“Yeah, It’s fine”, he whispered, smiling. “I understand.”

“ _ Okay, good _ ”, she exhaled, breathing a small laugh. “ _ And don’t get me wrong, I definitely want people to know about us, I just… need some time. _ ”

“Yeah, don’t worry about it”, he reassured. “It’ll be a nightmare once Tony and May find out anyway, they’ll never leave us alone.”

“ _ They won’t _ .” She laughed again, and Peter was, as usual, grinning like an idiot at the sound. “ _ Are you up for some  _ talk _ , or…? _ ”

He bit his lip, sighing slightly. “I’d love to, but I’m  _ really _ tired, and…” he glanced over to his left, “it’s a bit weird when they’re here, even if their asleep.”

“ _ Oh yeah, I understand _ ”, she said, and he heard the smile in her voice. “ _ But to make up for it you’re fucking me in the library tomorrow. _ ”

Peter caught his breath in his throat. It definitely wasn’t the most vulgar thing she’d said to him over the phone, but it still never ceased to shock him. He took a breath to compose himself, laughing slightly. “I know we’re both all for free, uh, sex and stuff, but I think I’d like to, um, kiss you before… that. Or even hug. Have we hugged? I don’t think we’ve hugged yet. Isn’t that weird?”

“ _ You’re rambling _ ”, she noticed, and he heard that she was trying to hold in a laugh. “ _ That means you’re nervous. Do I still make you nervous, Parker? _ ”

He sighed in defeat. “You’ll probably always make me nervous…  _ Jones _ .”

“ _ I was going to call you adorkable, but I’ll just settle with rolling my eyes. _ ”

He smiled. “You just did, though.”

“ _ No, I just  _ told  _ you that I was  _ going  _ to. But I never did. Dork. _ ”

He breathed a small laugh, and heard her do the same. “Well, I guess we both better go to bed.”

“ _ Yeah, you need energy for our little trip to the library tomorrow. _ ”

“There are usually people in the library, though. I thought you wanted to keep this a secret?”

She hummed. “ _ Yeah, you’re right. I guess we’ll have to do it in the janitor’s closet then. _ ”

“I thought you hated clichés?”

“ _ Oh, I’m too horny to care about clichés now. _ ”

He breathed a laugh. “Okay, but for real now, let’s go to bed. Goodnight.”

“ _ Goodnight, dork. _ ”

 

-

 

“Call me or May if anything happens or you feel the slightest pain, okay?” 

Peter just nodded, eager to get out of the car. They had parked a few blocks down to avoid Tony getting recognized. May was already at work, but she had woken Peter up before leaving to say goodbye.

“Yeah yeah, I will”, he said impatiently, practically jumping in his seat. “Can I go now?”

Tony rolled his eyes and reached over to ruffle his hair. “Alright, go. Skedaddle.” 

He immediately got out and basically ran toward his school, almost laughing with relief at the lack of pain in his ribs. He was once again extremely grateful for his enhanced healing.

He reached the parking lot in under two minutes and forced himself to slow down, still careful with shoving his improved athletic abilities around his classmates.

He finally went through the doors and started scanning the halls for that familiar bundle of dark curls. He searched for a minute, but then the first bell rang and he knew he had to get to his locker, otherwise he’d be late.

After gathering his things and closing the locker he felt a hand on his shoulder, and he turned around to see Ned.

“Hey, dude”, he said, grinning at Peter. “I’m glad you’re feeling better.”

He smiled back, happy to finally see his best friend again. “Thanks, man. I’m glad to see you.”

“So what happened with you and MJ, huh?” he asked as they made their way to their first class, which they had together. “Did you to talk it out?”

He bit his lip. He had hoped that Ned wouldn’t ask about that, but he guessed it was inevitable. “Yeah, uh… I called her on Sunday and we sorted it all out. She isn’t mad anymore, and she, um, said she wasn’t that hurt.”

Ned hummed. “That’s good. So what about your little ‘incident’? Did you talk about that too?”

Peter started rubbing his neck, staring down at his moving feet. “Uh, yeah, we did.”

He looked up at him. “So? What’d you say?”

“That we, uh… were drunk, and that it didn’t mean anything, and we can still be friends.”

Ned furrowed his eyebrows. “And how do you feel about that? Since you’re in love with her and all.”

Peter took a deep breath and had to focus to continue lying. “I mean, honestly, it stings a little, but I’m glad we’re still friends, and who knows what’ll happen in the future, right?”

Ned smiled and gave him a pat on his shoulder. “That’s the spirit.”

His first classes went slow, especially since none of them were with MJ, but after what felt like an eternity the lunch bell finally rang. Peter practically ran to the lockers and dragged Ned with him to the cafeteria. 

“Dude, are you starving or something?” Ned asked as they sat down with their trays at their usual table. “Why are you in such a hurry?”

“Uh, yeah, just hungry”, he mumbled as he started eating, continuously throwing quick glances at the cafeteria doors.

Ned seemed to take that as an acceptable answer and started eating himself.

After ten minutes Peter was getting extremely impatient. He had already finished his food and was now sipping on his soda while also tapping his fingers against the table and bouncing his knee. He saw Ned raising an eyebrow at him in his peripheral vision, but didn’t say anything.

Finally,  _ finally _ , after fifteen minutes did a familiar face appear at the entrance. She was wearing her hair up in a bun (which might be the reason Peter hadn’t spotted her in the hallway since he was specifically searching for her curls), allowing him to see her whole face clearly, and her outfit consisted of her usual boots, a pair of boyfriend jeans and an oversized black sweater, and she just looked so  _ good _ . He forced himself to look down at his food as she made her way over to their table, her face stuffed in a book. 

She threw her backpack onto the table and slid down into the seat next to Peter, and he felt a bit weird seeing her like this, the way she used to be before they… got together.

Peter cleared his throat, trying to hide his excitement at seeing her. “Uh, hey, MJ. How are you?”

She looked up at him over the edge of her book and gave him that half-smile. “Not too bad. How ‘bout you, Parker?” She grabbed an apple from her tray and leaned back in her chair, taking a bite.

Damn, she was good at this. He gulped. “Uh, good. Fine.”

They ate in silence after that, Peter trying his hardest not to look at MJ without any success, when he suddenly felt pressure against his right calf. He glanced down beneath the table, and saw that MJ was rubbing her foot against his leg. He gulped and glanced at her, but her face was expressionless.

She kept going like that for ten minutes, with Peter trying to look at least somewhat normal, when she suddenly stood up and started gathering her things. “I’m gonna go to the library and study”, she muttered, and Ned nodded, not really paying attention as he ate his food and scrolled down his phone. 

She started walking away, but right as she passed Peter she leaned down and whispered, “Meet me in the janitor’s closet”, before quickly straightening and walking out as if nothing happened. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've just got to give you guys my fanfic tip of the week: "Spring Break Fever" by chrono96. I'm sure most of you know about it already, but if you don't, go check it out! It's a spideychelle fic, and holy shit it's so good you guys, like I'm literally obsessed with it.  
> With that said, see ya next time!


	25. Janitor's closet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter, and the explanation as to why will be at the end.  
> Enjoy!

Peter forced himself to wait five long, _eternal_ minutes before finally clearing his throat, making Ned look up. “I, uh, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Ned shrugged. “‘Kay.”

Peter looked down at his knee and put a hand on it to try and stop it from bouncing with, most likely, nerves and excitement. He hadn’t allowed himself to think for even a second about why she wanted them to meet in the janitor’s closet since he definitely wouldn’t be able to leave the cafeteria without having to cover himself if he did.

“Actually, I-” He started rubbing his neck with his other hand. “My stomach’s kind of been acting up so it might… take a while? Just, uh, so you know.”

Ned looked up from his phone again with an arched eyebrow. “Uh, okay? That’s fine.”

“You know what? I might even, um-” He stumbled to his feet, clumsily trying to gather both his tray and all his belonging. “I might as well take this away since I’m finished, you know? And it’s only about half an hour left, and it might take me at least 15 minutes in the bathroom, and of it does I probably won’t come back, okay? So don’t be surprised if I don’t come back.”

Ned furrowed his eyebrows with a huff, smiling slightly. “Dude, it’s okay. Go take your dump, I’ll be fine.”

Peter nodded once before hurriedly discarding his tray and making his way out of the cafeteria, towards the janitor’s closet.

It was at the end of a hallway, pretty closed off from the rest of the school. He made sure he was alone before walking down the hallway, gripping the straps of his backpack tightly. His heart rate was quickening rapidly.

He stood in front of the closet and paused for a second to compose himself. He couldn’t believe he was actually about to do this; he felt like he was in one of those cheesy high school movies.

He looked up at the mirrorless door and was struck by the realization that MJ was actually in there, waiting for him. He took a deep breath and slowly lifted his fist, knocking twice on the door.

“MJ?” he whispered after leaning in closer to the door, his face now only a few inches from it. “It’s me. Um, Peter.”

It opened slightly, and before he had time to make out her face in the dark room he was being grabbed by the arm and pulled in, the door shutting quickly behind him.

The room was small, completely surrounded by shelves with just enough space for both of them to stand in front of each other, and with a small table right behind MJ.

It was dark though, and only a small ray of light found its way through the space between the door and the door frame, lighting up parts of the right half of MJ’s face, turning both her eye and skin golden.

“Hi”, she breathed, only inches away from his face, and smiled.

“Hi”, he choked out, completely breathless by her stunning beauty. He cleared his throat and shrugged his backpack off, carefully putting it on the floor next to him. “I, uh, I’m sorry you had to wait. I had to make up an excuse to Ned.”

“It’s fine”, she whispered back, tilting her head slightly to the side. “I kept myself occupied.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Yeah? With what?”

She lifted her chin and pushed her chest out, though the movement was so small he almost missed it. “Masturbating.”

He gulped and couldn’t decide whether she was joking or not with the way her face remained unchanged.

“So, uh, the lights don’t work?” he asked in a futile attempt to distract himself from her words and stay somewhat focused.

She shook her head. “But it only adds to the thrill, doesn’t it?”

He nodded and bit his lip. God, she was so close, he could just lean forward and…

But he wouldn’t. Even though he knew she wanted it as bad as him, he’d wait for her to make the first move, or at least ask him to do it.

Which didn’t take long; less than a second later he felt her wrap her arms around him and take a step forward, closing the distance between them. Feeling her body pressed against his almost made him lose control.

“You have no idea how much I’ve wanted to do this”, she whispered with her mouth against his ear and let go of his waist to run her hands up his arms.

He closed his eyes and sighed. “I think I do.”

Allowing himself to follow his instinct - since she had already made the first move - he wrapped his arms around her waist and nestled his face in the crook of her neck, breathing in her magnificent scent. He felt his chest becoming warm with the overwhelming amount of love he had for her.

After a moment she started leaning back, out of his embrace, and Peter stiffened, horrified that he’d somehow made her uncomfortable.

“I-I’m sorry”, he stammered when he’d straightened enough to see her face again. “Did I, uhm, do something wrong?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and then smirked with a small laugh. “No, stupid. I just wanted to do this.”

And then she grabbed his chin - firmly, but not too hard -, waited a second to make sure he was at least a little bit prepared (though no amount of time could prepare him), and leaned forward to press her lips softly against his.

Peter loosened the moment their lips connected, melting under her touch. He kissed her back, slowly, intimately, all tips on how to kiss he’d gotten from the internet completely out the window.

After a few seconds she opened her mouth to let out a small whimper, and a breathless “ _Peter._ ”

That made him lose it, and in a beat he had her thighs in his grip, all but throwing her on top of the table behind her.

She put her hands behind her to steady herself with a small gasp, then looked up at him with a smirk and bit her lip as he quickly retook his position in front of her, now in between her legs.

She draped her arms around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss, wrapping her legs around him and slipping him some tongue.

Peter groaned into her mouth as she used her legs to press their bodies closer together. He still had a grip on her thighs, and moved his thumbs to the closest holes in her jeans to rub small circles against her skin.

Somewhere, deep in the back of his mind, he was a bit surprised by how smoothly this went for him. He must’ve been running on pure instinct and adrenaline.

A minute into their makeout-session, however, he felt MJ loosen her grip around his neck to trail her hands down his body, and eventually rest them against his fly.

Peter froze, and after a beat MJ whined and started digging her heels into his back when he didn’t continue kissing her.

He took a deep breath and straightened, looking into her confused and slightly frustrated eyes.

“I’m sorry”, he breathed, still trying to catch his breath. “I was, uh… just a bit surprised, I guess.”

“Oh”, she said, expression softening. She looked down and withdrew her hands, placing them on top of the table on either side of her hips. “Sorry, I should’ve said something. I got a bit caught up in the heat of the moment, I guess.”

“It’s okay”, he said, feeling a bit flustered.

MJ raised her gaze with a more serious look in her eyes. “But if I’d told you, would you’ve encouraged me? Like, wanted it?”

He bit his lip and looked down to her hands on the table.

“It’s okay, Peter”, she mumbled, lifting a hand to place it on his arm. “You don’t have to want to.”

“No, it’s just…” He took a deep breath. “I _do_ want to, like, really bad. Too bad, probably.” He felt his cheeks blushing from admitting it. “But maybe not now, and… maybe not in the janitor’s closet.” Huffing, he looked up at her with a small smile.

She smiled back - though it could’ve also been her half-smile, since still only half her face was lit up. “Yeah, I agree. God, I’ve got to get my hormones under control before I accidentally take your virginity during school.”

“You say that as if you aren’t a virgin yourself.”

She arched an eyebrow. “You sure?”

His eyes widened, but before he had time to ask she breathed a laugh. “I’m just messing with you, Parker. Come on, let’s get to class. We have Spanish, right? _Vamos_ , then.”

But Peter didn’t move, making MJ furrow her eyebrows at him.

“I, uh, can’t go yet.”

“Why?”

He sighed. “I’m… hard.”

Her eyes widened, and she looked way too excited for Peter to not blush even more. “Really?”

“Yeah. So just… give me a minute, okay?”

She nodded, but it only took a few seconds for her to start biting her lip seductively. “You know, you being hard is actually making me _really_ wet right now.”

He groaned, closing his eyes and leaning his head back. “That’s not helping, MJ.” The opposite, actually.

She laughed, but then went silent.

A moment passed before she spoke again. “Peter?”

“Hm?”

“You know you’re still gripping my thighs, right? Like, really hard.”

He opened his eyes and looked down. He was holding them in a vice-like grip, his thumbs having slipped underneath the holes of her jeans so far he couldn’t even see them.

“Sorry”, he mumbled, carefully placing her feet on the floor and withdrawing his hands.

“It’s fine, I like it rough.”

He huffed. “Yeah, still not helping.”

“Not teasing, just informing. You know, for the future.”

He closed his eyes again, trying to get _that_ picture out of his head. “You don’t want us to ever leave this closet, do you?”

“Not really.”

She reached a hand out for him, but he took a step back with a sigh. “I’m sorry, I just… I can’t get this under control with you touching me.”

He looked up at her and was thankful to see a smile on her lips. “Sorry, I’ll let you get flaccid in peace.”

A couple of minutes later they were able to leave the closet. It was still lunchtime, so they managed to sneak out without being seen.

They parted ways after getting their stuff from their lockers, Peter going directly to their Spanish class while MJ made a trip to the ‘bathroom’ before so that they wouldn’t be seen walking to class together.

He was the first student to reach the classroom - most people were probably still in the cafeteria or just leaving - and he sank down on a bench against the wall with a sigh, grinning ear to ear.

The fact that Tony and May and their talk awaited at home didn’t bother Peter in the slightest, because right now everything was just perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I've now reached the end of my schedule for this story. Don't worry, there'll be more, a lot more, but unfortunately I've been stupid enough to not continue planning. I have a lot of ideas and I know where I want this fic to go, but I still haven't decided how it will all play out. So I might need some time to plan all this; I don't think it'll take too long, but be prepared that the next chapter might be posted in over a week, although probably not more than two weeks.  
> See ya next time! (In about a week or two) :)


	26. Consequences

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So guys, I made a [twitter](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00?lang=sv) account where you can ask me questions, I can post updates on how the next chapter's going, etc. Please go check it out! (saladqueen00, but i also linked it, if it works lol)

During his ride on the subway Peter’s phone started ringing in his back pocket. It was MJ.

“Hey, MJ”, he answered, already smiling just from the fact the he was talking to her.

“ _Have you left ?_ ” she asked, her voice a bit tense.

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Uh, yeah, last period ended early. I’m sorry, did you want me to wait for you?”

“ _Oh no, just wondering_ ”, she said with a now softer voice. “ _Did Tony pick you up?_ ”

“No, I’m actually on the subway.”

She hummed. “ _Trying to avoid him for as long as you can, huh?_ ”

Peter breathed a laugh, reaching up to rub his neck. “Pretty much, yeah. Facing May when I get home will be bad enough.”

He heard the sound of what he guessed was a locker being shut. “ _So Tony won’t be there?_ ”

He shrugged, even though he knew she couldn’t see it, just out of habit. “I really doubt it. He’s got a lot of work to catch up on after taking care of me these past couple of days, so it’ll probably just be May at home. Not that that’s any better though.”

She snorted. “ _I hope you survive._ ”

“Yeah”, he said with a sigh. “I’m a bit scared to be honest.”

“ _I’d be too if I was in your shoes_ ”, she laughed.

He huffed, but couldn’t help a smile. “This is the part where you’re supposed to comfort me.”

“ _Oh, I can think of a lot of ways to comfort you._ ”

He gulped, looking around to make sure no one was close enough to hear her through the phone. “I’m sure you can.”

“ _Want me to name some of them?_ ”

He exhaled a small laugh. “Aren’t you in school?”

“ _Nope, on my way to the bus. No one’s around._ ”

He looked down at his lap and started fidgeting with a loose thread on the hem of his shirt. The subway was pretty empty, but he still felt a blush starting to spread across his cheeks. “Uh, maybe later tonight?

“ _Scared you’ll get a boner in public, Parker?_ ”

He sighed and leaned his head back against the window. “I am.”

She hummed. “ _I get it. But that would really turn me on though._ ”

He felt the blush all the way to the tip of his ears, but his damn teenage hormones reacted differently. “Yeah?”

“ _M-hm. I could barely contain myself when it happened in the closet._ ”

He bit his lip with a small smile. “I noticed. So did you… you know, earlier, did you… get, um-”

“ _Wet?_ ” Her voice was a bit lower, but still loud enough for Peter to wonder how she was comfortable to talk like that in public. Not like he had any complaints, though.

He gulped. “Yeah.”

“ _I did._ Really _wet_ ”, she exhaled. “ _When you threw me on that table… fuck._ ” The last word was basically said as a low, breathy moan.

He shook his head and laughed slightly, pulling himself out of his trance. “Okay, we should, uh, probably save it for later. I’m getting off at the next stop.”

She laughed lightly, her quick shifts of moods almost giving Peter a whiplash. “ _Alright, well call me later. If you’re still alive._ ”

He sighed. “I will. Bye.”

“ _Bye._ ”

“Love you.”

The words slipped out before he even had time to think about them. He was about to apologize and laugh it off as a mistake, that it was just a habit he’d gotten from always saying it to May, but decided against it when he felt how much he actually meant them. Yeah, they had only been together a couple of days and it was probably way too early, but he didn’t want to take something back that he really meant just because of fear.

So instead he sat in dreadful silence, waiting for her response, if she was even going to give one.

After a few extremely long seconds he heard MJ take a deep breath and say, “Yeah, you too.”

Then she hung up.

It took Peter a few seconds before he was able to move his hand and bring it to his lap to stare down at his phone. He could see his wide eyes in the reflection of the dark screen.

She’d said it back.

She hadn’t used the word _love_ like he had, but she’d still said it back.

A warm feeling spread throughout his chest, and he had to bite his lip to stop himself from grinning to the point where people started staring.

That feeling quickly faded though as he ascended the stairs to his apartment, remembering what was waiting for him inside. Once he reached his door he took a deep breath before putting his hand on the doorknob and carefully opened it, peeking inside.

“May?” he called out quietly, shutting the door behind him as he let his backpack fall to the floor.

“Nope, kid”, he heard from deeper into the apartment, making him immediately snap his head up. “Just me.”

He then saw Tony sitting at the dinner table, on the other side of it so that he was facing Peter. He was leaning back in the chair with his hands clasped on top of his stomach, as if he was expecting him.

Peter reached up to rub his neck, not quite daring to get any closer to the man. “Um, is she still at work then?”

“Yep”, Tony answered, uncrossing his legs and leaning forward to put his elbows on top of the table. “She had to fill in for someone, so I offered to come over and keep an eye on you.”

Peter shifted his weight to his other foot. “Oh. Well, that’s nice and all, but, uh, I can take care of myself for one night. I have before. Also, don’t you have, like, tons of work to do?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I can do it from here too, after you’ve gone to bed.”

“Well, isn’t it, you know, easier from your office?”

The hint of a smile ghosted over his lips for a moment. “Are you trying to stall, Peter?”

He dropped his gaze to the floor with a small huff. “Can you blame me?”

“Not really, but we’re still doing this.” Peter glanced up at the sound of a chair being pulled out. The smile was gone, and Tony’s face looked even more stern now. “Come on”. He gestured at the chair next to him.

He took a deep breath before slowly making his way over to the dining table, sliding into the seat with hunched shoulders.

A silent minute passed with Peter’s gaze locked on the table, still avoiding Tony’s eyes he felt on him, burning into the back of his head.

“Do you know what you’ve done wrong, Peter?” Tony asked, his voice stern.

Peter’s gaze lowered to his lap and he started fidgeting with a loose thread on the pocket of  his jeans. “I broke one of your rules”, he mumbled.

Tony hummed agreeingly. “Which one?”

“Not being allowed to go out on patrol for two weeks.”

“And what else?”

Peter opened his mouth and closed it again. “Technically I… didn’t break any more rules”, he said, his voice now even lower.

“You didn’t, but you’re not going to play dumb right now”, Tony snapped back, sounding very irritated now. “Okay, let me rephrase that; what else did you do that you’re smart enough to know was wrong?”

Peter hung his head lower, fidgeting with his jeans with both of his hands.

“I’ve got all day, kid. Spit it out and get it over with.”

He took a deep breath and relaxed his hands on his knees. “I hacked into the suit, didn’t tell you when I got hurt… and sneaked off to MJ’s.”

Tony hummed and it then went silent again.

“Look at me, Peter.”

Peter bit his lip and fisted his hands.

Then he felt a heavy hand being placed on his back, in between his shoulder blades. “This kind of behaviour is _not_ in any way acceptable, Peter.” Tony’s voice was still firm, but more calm than before.

He nodded, and even though he was a bit annoyed by Tony’s intention of being authoritative, the weight on his back felt reassuring and secure.

“These rules were made for a reason, and that is to protect you.”

Peter started gnawing on the inside of his cheek, clenching his fists.

“Do you have any idea what could’ve happened to you last weekend? And how your aunt would’ve reacted if something did?”

He flinched at the mention of May, and a wave of guilt crashed over him. He squeezed his eyes shut and took a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry”, he breathed out.

Tony took a deep breath himself. “I didn’t want to have to pull that card, but you’ve given me no choice, kid. This is your last chance, Peter, and if this happens again the consequences will be much worse than they were last time and will be now, understood?”

He nodded, and had to fight back tears. Whether it was out of anger toward Tony for acting like he had some kind of authority over him or guilt, he wasn’t sure, but it was probably a mix of both.

A silent minute passed then before Tony took another deep, shuddering breath, and Peter swore he could hear him mutter a low _“fuck”_ under his breath. “And also, kid, I…”

The fingers dug slightly deeper into Peter’s back, not hard, but enough for him to notice. Tony sighed.

“Your aunt wouldn’t be the only one devastated if something happened to you.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows, but before he had time to ask what that meant the hand on his back disappeared, and then he was being grabbed by his shoulders and pulled tightly against Tony’s chest. He wrapped his arms around Peter’s small frame and leaned his cheek against his head, pulling him close.

“Promise me you won’t pull that shit ever again”, he mumbled against Peter’s hair, his voice now desperate instead of authoritative like it had been before.

The tears then started falling from Peter’s eyes from hearing how heartbroken Tony sounded, and he realized that they were probably mostly out of guilt. He wrapped his own arms around the man’s middle, nestling his face in his chest. “I promise”, he cried, his voice muffled from Tony’s shirt.

Tony moved one of his hands from Peter’s back to his hair, tightening his grip on him.

Peter was surprised by how safe and serene he felt in Tony’s embrace. He’d been hugged by him before, but it’d never felt like this. It was similar to… when May hugged him.

He was the first one to let go after a minute, a bit embarrassed about soaking Tony’s shirt in tears. The man still kept a grip on his shoulders as he wiped the tears away with his palms.

“I’m sorry”, he mumbled and lowered his gaze to his lap again. As if crying into Tony’s shirt twice last week hadn’t been bad enough, though the man’s comfort had made him feel much better.

Tony let go of his shoulders but reached a hand up to run it through Peter’s hair. “Don’t apologize, kiddo. It’s okay.”

Peter nodded and sniffled once before straightening in his seat, but Tony’s hand stayed on top of his head. He kept his gaze locked with Peter’s and he could see the man’s chest heaving with a deep breath.

“You know I care about you, right?”

Peter nodded again and his lip quivered in a small smile. “And I care about you too.”

Tony returned the smile and then withdrew his hand, straightening and clearing his throat. Peter guessed that they had reached his emotional limit for now.

“So, ready for your consequences?”

His smile dropped and he lowered his gaze to the floor. “I thought you said I had one more chance”, he huffed out, but couldn’t help a small smile.

“Oh you do, before I ground you and turn this apartment into a miniature version of the Avengers tower to make sure there’s no way you’ll be able to leave or let someone in without my permission.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he looked up to see a soft smile on Tony’s face, but he still didn’t doubt that the man would actually do it.

“Compared to _that_ I’m sure this punishment won’t be too bad.”

He hunched his shoulders and sighed. “So, what is it? No Spider-Man for a week?”

Tony arched an eyebrow and huffed. “You’ve still got a week and a half to go from your last punishment, kiddo.”

Peter frowned. “What is it then?”

“You and I”, Tony started, standing up from the chair, “are going to clean the apartment before your aunt gets home.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “We are?”

“Yep.”

“The _whole_ apartment?”

“Every inch.”

“B-but I-I”, Peter stuttered, looking up at Tony with the best puppy dog eyes he could achieve. “I’ve got homework.”

Tony let out a laugh and straightened, putting his hands in his pockets. “Oh no, I’m not falling for that one again. And I’m sure you’ll have time to do it anyways. It’s only 3:30 now, we’ll be done no later than 6:30, and then after dinner you’ll have four hours to study before bed time at eleven.”

Peter bit his lip and furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, I… don’t really want to spend my whole afternoon just cleaning and studying.”

“What, you’ve got something else to do? ‘Cause you’re not going out on patrol.”

“No, but I wanted to…”

“This is still a punishment, Peter”, Tony pointed out, his voice now more firm. “It won’t be compromised just because you’ve got something else you’d rather do.”

He sighed and looked down. “No, I know, I just…” He reached a hand up to rub his neck. “I promised a friend I’d call them tonight”, he mumbled.

“I’m sure a phone call with your girlfriend won’t take more than fifteen minutes, considering how much you blush after just five minutes of talking to her.” Peter felt his cheeks getting hot. “Come on now, if we finish in under three hours I’ll let you pick the takeout place for dinner.”

Cleaning actually went pretty fast with each other’s help, and at 6 pm they were ordering from Peter’s favorite thai place. He made sure to remind Tony about ordering something for May too so that she’d have a meal ready when she got home from work.

They ate in the living room, in front of the TV, and when it was time for Peter to start doing his homework he brought it out to the couch so that Tony could help him with it. Even though he had no problem doing it himself he wanted to enjoy Tony’s company as much as he could. Even though he obviously loved it when May was home, he really enjoyed it only being him and Tony. He thought that they had really gotten closer lately, and he always felt so relaxed and secure around the man, as if nothing could harm him.

At 8:30 he’d already finished his homework, they’d cleaned up after their dinner and were now just sitting in front of the TV, surfing through channels. Peter’s phone then buzzed from the coffee table, and he leaned forward to see what it was.

_[MJ]_

_Are you still alive?_

Peter quickly snatched his phone from the table before Tony could see it and tease him about it. He opened the messages app and was about to answer MJ’s text but hesitated, actually wanting to call her instead.

“Uh, Tony?” he spoke up, looking over at the man to see that he’d settled with some news program. “Could I, um, make a phone call?”

Tony shrugged, not looking away from the TV. “Sure.”

Peter bit his lip and reached up to rub his neck. “And could you, uh, step out for a minute? Or five, rather?”

Tony furrowed his eyebrow, but still didn’t look away. “Why?”

He cleared his throat. “Because I, um, I just…”

Tony then looked over at him with a soft smile. “I’m just messing with you, kid. I’ll go take a shower and you can call your girlfriend.”

Peter returned a thankful smile, and as soon as the bathroom door had closed he dialed MJ’s number.

“ _You’re alive, thank god_ ”, MJ sighed when she picked up, actually sounding relieved. “ _I was getting worried for a second there._ ”

Peter laughed, once again grinning like an idiot just from hearing her voice. “Barely. Tony was here instead of May, and I had to clean the whole apartment as punishment, which sucked and took two and a half hours. I did get Tony’s help though, but still.

She hummed. “ _I thought you were going to get grounded._ ”

“Yeah me too, but he did say that if something like this happens again he’ll do something with the apartment to make sure I can’t get out without his permission. So basically getting grounded, Tony Stark edition.”

She laughed, and the sound made Peter’s heart skip a beat. “ _Well, then you’d better get your rebellion under control, Peter._ ”

He smiled and lowered his voice as he spoke again, “Unfortunately that would have to include not making out with my girlfriend in the janitor’s closet.”

“ _There’s a lot of things we can do without making out, you know._ ”

He bit his lip and leaned his head against the back of the couch. “I know.”

“ _Oh, and remember how I was going to name all the ways I could think of to comfort you?_ ”

He hummed.

“ _You want me to?_ ”

“Tony’s probably coming out of the shower any minute now.” He smirked. “How about you show me at school tomorrow instead?”

It went silent, and Peter smiled at the fact that he’d made MJ speechless. He was a bit shocked himself by how much more comfortable he’d gotten with their “dirty talk”, but he was glad he had.

“ _I’d love to_ ”, she whispered, in a way that made it hard for Peter to think clearly.

“I can’t wait”, he said and sat up straight again with a slight shake of his head, in an attempt to get his thoughts under control. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“ _Bye._ ”

“Bye.”

“ _Oh, and Peter?_ ”

“Hmm?”

A beat of silence. “ _I love you too._ ”

_Click._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the long wait! I've just been pretty busy and had a little bit of writer's block for a minute, but it's better now, and I'll do my best to get back to weekly uploads :)  
> See ya next time!


	27. Circle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those of you who missed it, I made a [twitter](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00) account where you guys can ask me questions, I can post updates etc. Please go check it out ;)

Peter was drowning. The lights shining above him through the surface became increasingly smaller, until he couldn’t tell what was up and down anymore. The dark and cold water swallowed him.

Even though he deep down knew that it was a dream, it all felt very real. Too real. Especially the pain. Not the cold or the pressure you’re supposed to feel when being this deep, but the aching in his chest. He couldn’t breath, obviously, and that feeling stuck with him even as he was starting to wake up. When the water disappeared and he felt himself laying down in his bed, his chest still burned.

After a moment of laying there in panic and pain, he heard a sound somewhere that made its way through his haze of sleep, waking him up completely.

A few seconds later he was sitting up in his bed, gripping the sheets tightly and gasping for air. He then felt how extremely dizzy he was, almost to the point where he fell right back onto the mattress. His vision was blurry with black dots covering it, and his hearing was a bit turbid, as if he was still underwater. His chest still ached, burning. 

“Tony!” he cried out without thinking, just wanting the man close in his state of panic. He lowered his head to in between his knees, gasping deeply. 

He heard his bedroom door slam open, and soon after he was being pulled tightly against Tony’s chest.

“It’s okay, kiddo”, he mumbled, shushing him, as he carefully rocked them back and forth. “I’m here.”

Being held this close by Tony was something Peter usually loved, but now he just felt like he couldn’t breathe again. With a deep gasp he placed his hands against Tony’s sides, pushing him away. The man immediately let go of him, but stared at him incredulously. 

“Peter, what’s wrong?” He reached a hand out, probably to place it on his head, but hesitated and withdrew it.

Peter, still gasping, managed to get out a, “I-I can’t… I couldn’t breath.”

Tony furrowed his eyebrows and placed his hands on Peter’s shoulders. “Okay, kid, take a deep breath. You need to calm your breathing, gasping like this will make you pass out.”

Peter tried and failed, his breathing still uneven and too rapid. Tony placed a soft hand on top of his head, gently pushing it down until it was in between his knees again. He then started rubbing his back, which made some of Peter’s panic ease. He was also now able to breath easier.

“There you go, kid”, Tony mumbled, rubbing small circles against his back. “Take it easy.”

He allowed Peter to get his breathing under control, and after a minute his gasps had eased, turning into small pants instead. 

He’d placed his arms over his knees and rested his forehead against them while Tony kept rubbing his back, mumbling low, comforting words. 

“So what happened?” Tony asked gently when Peter’s breathing was almost back to normal.

Peter raised his head to look at him, but felt that he was still a bit dizzy and rested his head against the man’s arm. “I… I’m not really sure, but I think I didn’t breath.”

“Why? Were you choking on something?” He reached a hand up to place it on the boy’s head, running his fingers through his hair. 

“No, I-I, uh, dreamt that I was dreaming.”

“You dreamt that you were dreaming?”

“I meant drowning.”

“So you had a nightmare?”

“Yeah… but the pain in my chest felt very real, even as I woke up, and then I remember taking my first breath.”

Tony was silent for a beat before tightening his grip on Peter, leaning his cheek against his head. “Well, that’s not good. Has this happened before?”

Peter shook his head, but then hesitated. “Well, not in my sleep.”

“What does that mean?”

He bit his lip. “Remember that one time at the tower?” He felt Tony flinch, but he stayed silent. “And… it also happened this weekend, when I, uh, fell.”

Tony lifted his head and stared down at Peter with wide eyes. “It happened then? When you were alone?”

He lowered his gaze. “Yeah, but it didn’t last for long. Karen helped. Like, um, talked to me and stuff.”

Tony didn’t say anything as he kept rubbing his back, but Peter could feel how tense he’d gotten. 

“I’m sorry”, he mumbled, adjusting slightly so that he was resting his head against Tony’s shoulder. 

“Don’t sweat it kid”, he answered, squeezing his shoulder comfortably. “We’ve already talked about that and now you know to  _ always _ call me when something happens, right?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah.”

Tony leaned his cheek against his head. “Good.”

They stayed like that for a moment before Tony sighed and straightened slightly, but still kept his grip on Peter. “I’m sorry kid, I’d stay until you fall asleep, but I’ve really got to go pick up your aunt.”

Peter immediately tensed, lifting his head and looking up at the man with wide eyes. “You’re leaving?” he asked with a heartbroken tone to his voice, and even though he felt guilty about wanting him to stay he definitely didn’t want to be alone right now. 

When Tony met his gaze he exhaled and furrowed his eyebrows miserably. “I really don’t want to leave you, kid, but she has no other way of getting home.”

Peter opened his mouth to beg for him to stay, but shut it again and just nodded, lowering his gaze.

Toy let out another long sigh and stood up, but kept his grip on Peter’s shoulder. “You wanna come with me?”

Peter snapped his head up. “But… it’s a school night?”

Tony smiled slightly and reached his other hand up to run it through his hair. “You can sleep in the car.”

It didn’t take a lot of convincing for Peter to nod and stand up, grabbing a sweatshirt from the desk chair to put it on over his pyjamas. Tony draped an arm over his shoulder to lead him out and Peter leaned against his side sleepily, but also because he wanted the comfort of being close to the man.

 

-

 

After practically having to lift Peter into the backseat and put on his seatbelt, Tony wasn’t surprised when he fell asleep barely 30 seconds into the car ride. He constantly looked up at him through the rearview mirror, smiling at the way the kid leaned against the window with his hood on and mouth open, snoring slightly. 

The ride to May’s work was only about 15 minutes, and soon she was opening the passenger’s door, greeting Tony with a wide smile and a kiss.

Right as she’d leaned back Tony quickly nodded toward the backseat, informing her about her nephew’s presence so that she wouldn’t accidentally wake him up.

“Oh”, she whispered and smiled, looking back at Tony. Her smile then dropped as she arched an eyebrow. He sighed.

“He woke up and called on me right as I was about to leave”, he explained quietly. “He was pretty distressed and said he couldn’t breath.”

Her eyes widened and she looked back at her kid. “Is he okay?” She reached a hand out to place it softly on his knee, gently rubbing her thumb against it.

“Yeah. He seemed out of breath and gasped a lot when I first got in, but he calmed down pretty quickly. I’m not sure if he was actually unable to breathe or not, but he said that he’d had a nightmare about drowning, so… maybe that just made him think he couldn’t.”

May looked back at him with a frown. “But he was out of breath when you got to him?”

He sighed and leaned back against his seat, looking back at Peter. “He was. And he was a bit pale too, actually. Not too much, but still.” He ran a hand down his face. “God, I don’t know.”

May reached her other hand out to place it on Tony’s thigh. “Hey, don’t beat yourself up over it, okay? It’s not your fault, and I’m  _ so  _ thankful you went and comforted him.”

He smiled and placed his hand on top of hers. “Of course.”

She smiled back, breathing out a small laugh. “And thanks for having that talk with him. How’d it go?”

“Pretty well. He seemed remorseful, and he apologized for what he-”

“Dad?”

Tony stopped in the middle of his sentence, freezing. He looked up at May, who wore the same look of confusion on her face he guessed he did.

There was a small rustling sound from the backseat and a low sigh. “Dad”, he heard again, a bit louder this time.

May arched an eyebrow and squeezed Tony’s thigh, nodding at the backseat. He cleared his throat, a bit taken aback and still not really sure if Peter was dreaming was not, and turned around to face him. “Uh, yeah?”

But Peter sure was awake, at least a bit. He looked up at Tony with tired eyes, still leaning against the window. “Are we there yet?” he mumbled.

Tony felt May squeezing his thigh harder, and in his peripheral vision he could see her biting her lip to stop herself from smiling. “Um, we are, yeah. May’s right here.” He nodded to his left.

Peter’s gaze moved from Tony’s face to May’s, and a small, soft smile appeared on his lips. “Oh. Hi.”

“Hey, sweetie”, May cooed, rubbing her hand over his knee. “Are you feeling okay?”

He nodded his head and closed his eyes, relaxing his body against the window again.

“Tony was nice to you?”

He hummed, which turned into a snore as he inhaled. His mouth opened slightly.

May leaned back against her seat and looked up with a smile. Tony, who still really hadn’t comprehended what just happened, didn’t know what kind of expression she saw on his face.

“He called you ‘dad’ again.”

“He did.”

She turned around the hand she had on his thigh and intertwined her fingers with his. “And how do you feel about that?”

Tony looked down at their connected hands, and then over to the hand she had on top of Peter’s knee. He reached his own free hand out to place it on top of hers, resting his thumb against the kid’s sweatpants. 

He leaned his head against the seat with a content sigh, feeling as though his circle was finally complete. 

 

-

 

“Come on, Peter”, Tony sighed as he leaned down and hooked his arms underneath the kid’s armpits to lift him out of the backseat. Peter groaned and frowned, still with his eyes closed, but managed to stand up enough that Tony only had to put an arm around him for support as he walked.

The three of them made their way to the elevator, and when they got in Tony let go of Peter slightly to lean him against the wall, but he whined and threw his arms around the man, clinging to him. May bit her lip again.

When they finally got back to their apartment Peter was basically out cold and Tony gave up on trying to make him walk on his own, so he bent down with a sigh to hook his arm underneath the kid’s legs, lifting him up. Peter’s head lolled back, into a position which Tony thought looked very uncomfortable for his neck, so he adjusted him until he had his head rested against his chest. 

He looked up to see May smiling at him as she shrugged her coat off. She walked over to him, gave him a kiss and whispered, “You’re so cute.”

Tony huffed, but kissed her back with a smile of his own. 

“Do you think you can put him to bed?” she asked when she’d leaned back, nodding to the kid in his arms. “I’ve really got to take a shower, and I’m  _ starving _ .”

Tony nodded, tightening his grip on Peter as he felt him starting to writhe slightly. “Of course.”

She leaned forward to press a kiss to Peter’s forehead. “Goodnight, honey.”

Peter responded with a hum, nestling his face closer against Tony’s chest.

She breathed a small laugh and ran her hand through his hair. “Alright, I’ll let you sleep now.” She looked up at Tony. “You want anything from the kitchen?”

“No thanks. Oh, there’s thai food for you in the fridge, Peter and I ordered before and got some for you too.”

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. “You know I love you, right?”

He smiled back, and would’ve embraced her if it wasn’t for the teenager in his arms. “I love you too.”

After one last kiss Tony made his way to Peter’s room, carefully laying him down in the lower bunk. 

“Goodnight, kid”, he said as he brushed a hand across his head.

Peter hummed, rolled his head to the side so he was facing Tony, still with his eyes closed, and mumbled, “Goodnight, dad.”

Once again, Tony froze. And it then finally sank in that Peter had called him dad again that day; not once, not twice, but  _ three _ times. And, to answer May’s question, it felt incredible.

He gazed down at that pure, innocent face, still with a fair amount of features from his younger years, and realized with an ache in his heart that he would truly be devastated if something happened to him. 

With a shaky hand he reached up to the boy’s head, brushed away the messy curls from his forehead and leaned down to place a kiss on it.

“I love you, kiddo”, he whispered, feeling the ache in his heart increase from how much he meant it. 

 

-

 

Thursday came and went, with another visit to the janitor’s closet between Peter and MJ. It was as steamy as the last one, if not even more, but there was this light tension between them. It wasn’t until the next period, which Peter had gotten late to since it’d taken him longer than last time to, well, get himself under control, that he realized what it must’ve been. 

He’d told her that he loved her the day before. And even though it was very true, and she’d said it back, he still felt a bit bad about it. He knew MJ had a very hard time expressing feelings, and telling her that he loved her, especially so soon and out of the blue, really put her on the spot, which wasn’t fair. He worried she might’ve said it just because she felt like she had to, which he  _ definitely  _ hoped wasn’t the case. Rather she laughed him in his face when he said it than saying something back because she felt forced to.

He really had to talk to her about it, but he felt like the janitor’s closet wasn’t the best place for that conversation. He also really wanted to hang out with her outside of school, where they could be loving towards each other even outside of a cramped room. 

“I have a suggestion”, he managed to get out in between kisses, a bit breathless. 

It was Friday lunch break in the closet, and MJ was sitting on top of the small table with Peter in between her legs; a position which had quickly become one of their favorites.

“Hit me.” She placed her hands on the table behind her, leaning back to get a clearer view of him in the dark room.

He lowered his gaze to where his hands were placed on top of her thighs. It had gotten pretty hot outside since they were nearing June and MJ was wearing a pair of jeans shorts, allowing Peter to feel her actual thighs. He’d at first been a bit embarrassed, but after a few minutes he couldn’t keep his hands off of her, mesmerized by her smooth skin.

“So I was wondering if you’d maybe like to, uhm, I don’t know, hang out after school some day? Like, go somewhere?” He took a hand off her leg to reach up and rub his neck, confused about why he all of a sudden was so nervous.

MJ cocked her head to the side with a half smile. “Are you asking me out on a date, Parker?”

Ah, so that was why.

He bit his lip and huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess I am.”

She reached up to grab his hand and placed it back on top of her thigh, keeping it in her grip. “I usually don’t do that kind of sappy shit, but I guess I can make an exception for you, since you’re my boyfriend and all.” She shrugged, but Peter could see through her act of nonchalance. 

He smiled at her. “I’m honoured. And you should really get used to all this sappy… stuff, because I love them.”

She rolled her eyes, but kept smiling. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, I found this pretty nice indian restaurant with a lot of vegetarian options that’s fairly close to both of our apartments, and I was thinking that maybe we could go there tomorrow? I’ll pay.”

She stared up at him in silence, and then arched an eyebrow. “You’re really pushing it, Peter.”

He breathed a small laugh and bit his lip. “Too sappy, huh?”

She smiled and laughed back. “It is, but it’ll accept it.”

He exhaled and grinned. “Good.”

“You really don’t have to pay though, we’ll just split it.”

He shook his head. “No it’s fine. I… I really want to do this. I’m a hopeless romantic after all, right?” He smirked at her, but her face remained unchanged. 

“Restaurants ain’t cheap”, she pointed out, her voice now a bit softer. “And I know you guys, you know, don’t really waste money.”

Peter huffed, smiling slightly. “It wouldn’t be a waste. And yeah, that’s true, but… you don’t have to worry about that.”

She gazed up at him, her thumb gently stroking the back of his hand. A smiled formed on her lips. “I appreciate it, I really do, but I’m sure you have something more important to spend your money on.”

Peter lowered his gaze and bit his lip. It went silent for a beat before he spoke again, “There’s not much that’s as important to me as you are.”

It went silent again, and Peter was worried that what he’d said had upset her. He was about to say something when MJ grabbed his chin and tilted his head up, leaning in to press her lips against his. He immediately responded, kissing her back slowly yet intimate. 

After a minute she pulled back, allowing them to catch their breaths.

“Alright”, she sighed when her breathing was under control again. “I’ll let you take me out on a date and pay.  _ If _ ”, she added, a smirk forming on her lips. “You ask Tony and May if I can spend the night afterwards.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “They’ll never allow that, MJ.”

She shrugged. “You can always ask, right?”

“Yeah, I guess, but… don’t get your hopes up, okay?”

“I’ll try, but…” She bit her lip and started running her hands up his arms, draping them around his neck. “It’s hard when I start imagining all the things we can do in your bedroom.”

And with that he tightened his grip on her thighs to pull her body closer to his and leaned down to kiss her, once again letting his teenage hormones get the best of him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, please go check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00) account ;)  
> See ya next time!


	28. Safe

The bell at the end of last period finally rang, officially making it the weekend. Peter quickly gathered his belongings and made his way out of the classroom, basically running to his locker. 

Right as he was about to close it after filling his backpack with homework for the weekend, he heard from behind him, “Hey, Parker.”

Peter quickly turned around, a bit startled, but calmed down as soon as he saw that the person behind him was MJ. He took a second to look her over, finally being able to see her clearly outside of the dark closet, and he couldn’t really look at her for too long during lunch since they were still pretending to not be together. She was wearing her hair in her usual ponytail, a yellow sweater and the jeans shorts that showed off her smooth thighs, making him momentarily distracted. 

He looked up at her face again, and saw that she was staring at him with an arched eyebrow, probably waiting for him to respond. 

“Uhh… Hey, MJ?” Even though it was something he usually said to her, it felt weird having to say it as a friend. He reached a hand up to rub his neck, clearing his throat. 

She took a step forward, and Peter gulped as there was only now a few inches in between them. He looked around and was thankful to see that it was mostly empty; the few people left were already making their way toward the doors, probably in a hurry to start the weekend.

“Do you still have that pen I borrowed you a few weeks ago? The purple one.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Uhm, I guess? It’s probably way in the back of my locker though, so…”

She shrugged. “That’s fine. I really want it back.”

He opened his mouth and closed it again, nodding. “Okay, so I’ll, uh…” He turned around, let his backpack fall to the floor and reached his hands into the back of the locker. 

After a beat he saw in his peripheral vision MJ putting her hand against the locker to his left, leaning in so that her face was right next to his. “You found it?”

He gulped and tried to stay focused despite her being so close and her scent hitting him in the face. “Uhm, not really, are you sure you-”

“So, about you asking Tony and May about tomorrow”, she cut him off with a lower voice, almost a whisper. 

Peter froze for a moment when he realized that she didn’t actually want her pen back, but continued to dig through his locker. “Yeah?” he whispered back.

“I realized that if you do, you’d have to tell them about us.” 

He turned his head slightly toward her, still moving his hand idly around the back of his locker. He bit his lip, copying her somewhat worried expression. “I do, don’t I?”

She nodded. 

He furrowed his eyebrows. “Is that okay with you? I mean, we could just go to the restaurant without telling them or spending the night, and tell them when you’re ready.”

“No, it’s fine”, she reassured, flashing him a beautiful smile. “We have to tell them eventually, right? And I still  _ really  _ want to spend the night with you.”

She inched closer toward him, and then he felt her press her hand against his hip, twisting her fingers slightly until she found the space between the hem of his shirt and jeans. He clenched his jaw as she swept them across his skin. 

“Hey, guys!” someone called out, and Peter almost got scratched in MJ’s hurry to withdraw her hand. He quickly turned around and saw Ned making his way toward them, and he felt his heart drop to his stomach as he prayed that his friend hadn’t noticed anything. 

“Hi, Ned”, MJ said with a smile as she took a step back, crossing her arms. “What’s up? How come you got out of class so late?” 

Peter was jealous of MJ’s ability to just act nonchalant and be smooth whenever she wanted, while he was rubbing his neck and trying to force himself not to blush.

“I just had some questions for my teacher.” He shrugged. “I’m actually a bit surprised I bumped into you.”

“How come?” MJ asked, cocking her head to the side with furrowed eyebrows.

“Well, I’ve barely seen you these past few days. You’ve both been skipping most of lunch.”

Peter’s hand stilled on his neck, and he had to force himself not to glance back at MJ. 

He heard her breath out a small laugh. “Aw, you really crave our company that bad?”

Ned huffed, arched an eyebrow and nodded toward them. “Well, it looks like you do. With each other.”

Peter bit his lip and tried to act unfazed, but then remembered that even though Ned didn’t know about their relationship he still knew that he was in love with her. He snapped his head up and glared at him, knowing that it was the kind of reaction he would’ve had before all of this.

Ned laughed and waved his hand. “I’m just messing with you guys.” He shrugged his backpack off and opened his locker.

Peter dropped his arms to his sides with an exhale, and was just about to say that he had to go when Ned spoke again. “Oh, guys, why don’t we do something this weekend? I still feel pretty bad about missing the sleepover”, he glanced at Peter with a smirk, who started chewing on the inside of his cheek, “but I just got these awesome new games, and maybe you could come to my place tomorrow and we’ll try them out?”

This time Peter couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at MJ, and he saw her momentarily dropping her mask. She cleared her throat and quickly composed herself. “It sounds fun, but my family’s coming over tomorrow for my aunt’s birthday. Sorry, man.”

Ned furrowed his eyebrows and shrugged. “That’s too bad. Guess we’ll have to do it next week or something.” 

MJ smiled at him with a nod. “Sure. Well, bye losers.”

She was just about to turn on her heel when Ned spoke up again, “Hey, are you free tonight?”

Peter and MJ snuck another quick glance at each other before she looked up at Ned again. “Today?”

He shrugged with a smile. “Yeah, why not? You don’t have to stay the night or anything if you don’t want to, we’ll just hang out for a couple of hours and play games.”

Peter reached a hand up to rub his neck and glanced over at MJ again, who shrugged and smiled back. “Yeah, I think I’m free tonight.” She turned to Peter. “What about you, Parker?”

“Uh, yeah yeah. I, um, I’m free.” He waved his hand around. “I mean, I’ve got to check with May first, but I think it’s fine.”

“Yeah, of course, dude”, Ned said. “How about you guys go home and come by at five? We’ll get takeout or something, so you don’t have to eat at home.”

Peter saw MJ nodding in his peripheral vision and he copied her. “Yeah, sounds cool”, she said. “Well, I guess I’ll see you loser at five.” She put her hands in her pockets, turned around and made her way toward the doors.

Peter turned around to look her, and as soon as the doors closed behind her he felt Ned grab his arm and turn him around. “Not only am I your guy in the chair, but I’m also your wingman.”

He frowned. “What are you talking about?”

Ned arched an eyebrow. “Duh, you and MJ! I’m helping you guys, you know, get it on.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Ned, come on. You know that’s not going to happen.”

“Why not? You’re still in love with her, aren’t you?”

He bit his lip and looked away. “I mean, I’m not really…” He sighed when he realized he couldn’t lie about this. “Yeah, I am.”

Ned laughed and patted his shoulder. “Then what’s the problem? This is the perfect opportunity for you guys. I promise you’ll get plenty of time alone, I can make up excuses and leave the room.”

He reached up to rub his neck. “I, um, I just don’t think she’s interested in me in that way.”

Ned arched an eyebrow. “What happened during the sleepover tells me otherwise.”

“Well, uh…” Peter bit his lip. “We talked about it, remember? And she said it didn’t mean anything.”

“Well, duh, of course she did”, Ned said as if it was obvious. “If she really has feelings for you she won’t admit it to you that easily. You know how she is with that stuff.”

He huffed. “Yeah, I do.”

“So you’re in?”

Peter looked at him for a beat before sighing. “I guess.”

Ned’s face broke into a smile, which actually made him feel much better. “And even if nothing happens between you guys we’ll still have a good time, right? As friends.”

He smiled back at him. “Yeah. Friends.”

 

-

 

“May?” Peter called out as he walked through the unlocked door, throwing his backpack to the floor.

“Still at work, kid”, Tony answered from the couch, scrolling through his tablet. “She’ll be home at around four.”

He checked the time on his phone.  _ 3:25. _

“You wanna watch something?” Tony looked up from his tablet and patted the seat next to him. Peter didn’t have to be asked twice.

After half an hour of watching some mediocre sitcom May walked through the door.

“Hey, boys”, she said with a smile as she put a few grocery bags on the kitchen counter. “How are you?”

Tony got up from the couch to greet her as Peter turned off the TV and turned around. “Fine”, he said as Tony gave her a kiss, and was relieved when he realized that it barely bothered him.

“How’d the history test go?” she asked and started putting away groceries with Tony’s help.

“It went, uh, good. Really good.” He reached up to rub his neck and stood up from the couch. “Actually I, um, wanted to ask you something.”

May hummed. “What is it, sweetie?”

He started tapping his fingers against the back of the couch. “Is it okay if I go to Ned’s tonight? I won’t stay the night, but he said the we’ll order takeout so I won’t eat at home.”

“Yeah, that’s fine. So we won’t order pizza for you?”

“Right.” 

They continued unpacking, while Peter was still standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room. He cleared his throat, making them turn around to face him.

“And tomorrow I’m going to, uh…” He withdrew his hand from the couch to rub it against his neck again. “I was planning on, uh, hanging out with MJ.”

Tony and May shared a quick glance, and when they looked back at him May arched an eyebrow with a small smile. “Yeah? Just the two of you?”

Peter bit his lip. “Yeah.”

She hummed and slowly put away a box of cereal. “What are you going to do?”

“We were thinking about going to, um…” He exhaled. “A restaurant.”

May stopped and turned around to look at him, Tony mimicking her. “A restaurant?” she echoed.

He nodded. “And then she was wondering if she could…” He gulped. “Spend the night?”

Tony and May looked at each other again, and Peter felt his hands starting to sweat. A smile formed on Tony’s lips as he stared at her. “Are you really surprised?”

“I thought they were going to be in denial forever!” May exclaimed, gesturing toward Peter. She then turned to him with a smile. “Are you guys really…?”

Peter couldn't help a smile himself and felt a blush starting to spread. “Yeah, uhm, we are.”

“Officially?”

He nodded.

She dropped the bananas in her hand to the counter and walked up to give him a tight hug. He wrapped his arms around her middle, hugging her back. “Wow, I’m so happy for you guys”, she mumbled with her face against his hair.

“Thank you”, he mumbled back. 

After a minute she pulled back and reached a hand up to run it through his hair. “How long?”

“Since, uh, Saturday.”

May arched an eyebrow as Tony walked up to them, placing a hand on Peter’s shoulder to pull him against his side. “So everytime you called her while we were at the tower…?”

He felt his blush increase at the memory and lowered his gaze to the floor. “Yeah.”

May cupped his face, making him look up at her again. “Again, I’m so happy for you.”

Peter smiled back, and felt Tony tighten his grip on his shoulder “Me too, kid. Although I’m not surprised, unlike you aunt.”

She rolled her eyes. “I’m not  _ that  _ surprised, just excited.”

Her smile then slowly faded and she bit her lip. “You said she wanted to spend the night tomorrow, right?”

Peter nodded and chewed on the inside of his cheek. “Yeah, and I understand if you guys are worried because of what, um, happened last time, but I  _ promise _ that nothing like that will ever happen again. I’ve talked to her about it, and even though it was, uh, all my fault she totally agrees.”

May nodded with a small smile. “Yeah, we’ve been through this and I don’t doubt you. That wasn’t really what I was thinking about, though…”

She looked up at Tony, and Peter furrowed his eyebrows as he turned his head around to look at him as well. “What? What’s going on?”

She sighed as she looked back at him. “Peter, if you’re going to have someone spend the night, someone you’re  _ dating, _ then we’re going to have to… have a talk.”

Peter’s eyes widened as he took a step back, making Tony withdraw his hand. “That’s, uh,  _ really  _ not necessary.”

May furrowed her eyebrows. “It’s very necessary, Peter”, she said, her voice stern. “If you’re going to be in a relationship with someone you need to be well informed about the physical part of it.”

Peter bit his lip and wanted nothing more than to just disappear. “Well, it’s, um… it’s not like that, May”, he mumbled, looking down at his feet. “We aren’t, uh, you know.”

“Maybe not now, but this is still pretty new, right? You don’t know what’ll happen in the future. Especially with all the hormones you’re having now.”

He groaned and put his face in his hands. “May,  _ please _ .”

“I should probably…” Peter glanced up to see Tony fishing his phone out of his pocket, gesturing toward May’s bedroom. “I have some calls to make.”

“Yeah, of course”, May said, giving him a thankful smile.

He tuned to Peter and winked. “Good luck, kid.”

Peter gave him a halfhearted glare before he disappeared into the room.

He looked back at May who had her hands on her hips, smiling softly at him. 

“May, really, you don’t…” He dropped his arms to his sides with a heavy sigh. “I’m pretty sure I already know everything. They teach us this stuff at school, you know.”

“Yeah, well I want to make sure you’ve been paying attention in class then.” She walked over to the couch and plopped down, patting the seat next to her. “Come on, this won’t take too long.”

He sighed and slowly sat down next to her, leaning forward with his elbows against his knees.

“I know that this is embarrassing for you, Peter, but it’s important that you know about this.” She placed a hand on his shoulder, squeezing it lightly. “We’ll just have a ten minute chat and then it’ll be over, okay?”

He bit his lip and then nodded. “Yeah”, he mumbled.

She withdrew her hand. “So what do you know about protection?”

He flinched and furrowed his eyebrows, not looking at her. “I thought this was going to be a lecture, not a quiz.”

“Asking questions will help you learn and remember easier”, she said confidently. “And if you really have learned about all of this at school it shouldn’t be hard, right?”

He ran a hand down his face and suppressed a sigh. “Well, there’s, um… condoms?”

“Right. What else?”

He moved his hand to his neck. “Uhm… like, birth control?”

She nodded. “Those are the most common ones. Do you know the difference between them?”

“Well, birth control are pills, right? And condoms are, um, you know, uh-”

“Yeah, that’s true, but I meant more like, as protection.”

“Oh.” He started rubbing his neck. “They, uh, both prevent you from getting pregnant.”

She hummed. “There’s a difference though. Do you know what it is?”

He shook his head. 

“Birth control doesn’t prevent STDs. Condoms are therefore the safest alternative, unless, you know, you get tested or if you’re both virgins.”

Despite still being extremely embarrassed, Peter was a bit thankful for this new information, because it  _ was _ actually pretty useful, and he didn’t know some of the things May told him.

She went on about protection and being safe, with Peter just nodding along and feeling his cheeks burn from the blush, until she decided that she was finished.

“Can I go now?” Peter said, looking up at her for the first time since he’d gotten on the couch.

“Not yet”, she answered, and his shoulders slumped. “Don’t worry, this will only take a minute.”

He nodded and looked down at his lap again, fiddling with a loose thread on his pants.

“I just want to make sure you know about consent.”

“Yeah”, he nodded again. “No always means no, and if it’s not a yes it’s still always no.”

He saw her smiling in his peripheral vision. “Exactly. But you also have to be prepared that she might say yes even if she doesn’t want to, and to avoid that you have to be able to read signals and always ask her if she’s comfortable with whatever you’re doing. Multiple times if that’s necessary, and even if it might ‘kill the mood’”, she made quotation marks in the air, “it’s better than doing something she’ll regret.”

Peter nodded, listening intently to what she was saying. 

She huffed out a small laugh. “Now, from what I’ve seen and heard of Michelle I’m pretty sure she’s a girl who speaks her mind, but it’s still important to know these things.”

“Yeah”, Peter said, giving her a small smile. “I agree.”

She smiled back. “And this applies to you too, Peter”, she added, her voice a bit more serious. “I know that because you’re a boy you’re expected to want everything that has to do with this, but don’t ever feel like you have to do something you don’t want to, okay? Only do what you’re comfortable with, and speak up to your partner if you have any doubts at all.”

Peter nodded, clenching his fists. The embarrassment was practically gone, and hearing these things actually made him feel a lot better.

He looked up at his aunt with a smile. “Thanks, May.”

She smiled back and then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug. “Just make sure you guys stay safe and happy, alright?”

“I promise”, he said, wrapping his own arms around her.

They stayed like that for a minute, and when they pulled back it was time for Peter to leave for Ned’s.

“Text me if you’re staying later than planned or if anything happens, okay?” she said at the door as he was putting his shoes on.

“Of course, May.”

He placed his hand on the doorknob and was just about to open it when she exclaimed, “Wait!”

He turned around to see her digging through her purse. He furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

She grabbed his hand and placed something in his palm.

“May”, he groaned, still with his arm outstretched.

“Just to be safe”, she said with a smile.

“We’re going to be at  _ Ned’s _ .”

She shrugged. “Just take it, Peter. Keep it in your wallet or something.” She reached up to place her hand on his shoulder. “Are you sure you know how to put it on?”

“Bye, May!” he said pointedly, grabbing the doorknob and making a run for it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed!  
> Don't forget to check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00), and have a great week :)  
> See ya next time!


	29. Game night

Peter and MJ decided to purposely arrive at Ned’s five minutes apart to avoid any suspicion that might’ve arisen if they came together, even if it was unintentional. Better safe than sorry.

Peter was helping Ned place out snacks on the coffee table when the doorbell rang, and Ned gave him a wink and said that he had to go to the bathroom. Peter reached a hand up to rub his neck and bit his lip, but rolled his eyes when his friend turned around.

He opened the front door just as he heard the bathroom door close, and couldn’t, as usual, help a smile when he saw her.

“You’re beautiful”, he whispered, to be on the safe side.

MJ rolled her eyes, but he could see the tint of pink on her cheeks. “I wore the exact same thing to school.”

“Yeah, well, you’re still beautiful.”

She huffed but smiled, and then, to Peter’s surprise, opened her arms - an invitation he hadn’t received before. Sure, she’d reached for him plenty of times, but she’d never asked for just… a hug.

Peter’s cheeks ached with a smile as he without hesitation wrapped his own arms around her, hugging her tightly enough he had to remind himself of his superhuman strength. 

He felt her exhale a small laugh against his neck and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, but then the toilet flushed and they were taking a step back. Her arms crossed and in a second she had that nonchalant and almost snide look on her face, looking up at Ned with a smile and a  _ “Hey, loser”. _

They made their way over to the couch, and Ned not-so-discreetly sat down right next to the arm of the couch, making Peter with an eye roll sit down in the middle and MJ at the other end.

“Okay, guys”, Ned started, reaching for his controllers on the coffee table. “I only have two of these, so you’ll have to take turns. And please note how I said  _ you  _ and not  _ we _ , because I’m gonna keep playing all night.” He flashed them a teasing grin and waved the second controller in the air.

“Parker can start”, MJ said, kicking her shoes off and leaning back against the arm of the couch to place her feet next to Peter. “I’ll look so much better compared to him.” She smirked and wiggled her toes against the side of his thigh, which thankfully was out of eyeshot of Ned.

He huffed and arched an eyebrow, trying not to react to what she was doing. “I happen to be a great gamer, thank you very much.”

“Yeah, that’s not really something to brag about, dork.”

When Ned got up to fix with the game Peter grabbed and squeezed MJ’s knee, where he knew she was extremely ticklish. With tightly shut lips and a glare she was dangerously close to kicking him in the head, and he learned his lesson.

They started playing, even switching between games, and ended up having a really good time. Ned even lent out his console, smiling at the banter between Peter and MJ during their turns. 

When Peter and Ned played MJ would move her feet up against Peter’s leg, which really made him look bad at the games. One time she even moved them to in between his legs - not touching his privates, but it was close enough to make him lose.

Ned thankfully didn’t make any comments about the past weekend, but he didn’t seem bothered by it either, and Peter was happy to see his friend relaxed in the presence of the two of them, despite everything that had happened. Though he couldn’t shake the feeling of guilt when he kept remembering that he and MJ were constantly lying to him, and he didn’t know for how long he could keep this up. He felt trapped between having to lie to his best friend, or make his girlfriend do something that was out of her comfort zone. 

Even though the snack bowls stood empty on the coffee table, there were no objections to Ned’s “Hey, you guys wanna order takeout?”

“Yeah, what time is it?” Peter asked as he stretched his limbs out, almost crushing MJ’s feet where they lay underneath his thighs. 

She reached for her phone on the table. “Damn, almost eight.”

“Oh.” Ned frowned. “Do you guys have to leave? ‘Cause I totally understand if you do.”

“No, no, it’s fine”, Peter reassured. “May knows I’ll be here for a while.”

“Yeah, I’ve just got to text my mom.”

Ned was smiling again, standing up from the couch. “Great! So you’re up for takeout?”

“Please”, MJ groaned after putting her phone on the table, laying back down on the couch. “I’m starving, practically to death.” 

Peter hummed agreeingly. 

“Chinese?” Ned asked while digging through a drawer, looking for a menu. 

They all ended up with different orders - MJ’s being vegetarian, obviously -, and 30 minutes later, after another game, the food arrived and they could finally eat. 

“So when are you parents coming back?” Peter asked after finishing half his food in five minutes.

“Probably not until, like, midnight. But if they come back earlier you can still stay, obviously.” He shrugged with a smile.

“I’ve never met you parents”, MJ said thoughtfully, taking a sip of her soda.

“Yeah, and there’s a reason for that. I didn’t want to scare them.”

She threw a piece of broccoli at him, but laughed along.

They quickly finished their food, cleaned up and then sat back down to start playing again.

It was at around 9:30 MJ threw her controller down on the coffee table with a frustrated grunt after losing yet another game. “Can we do something else? We’ve been playing video games for hours now, it’s rotting my brain.”

“Can’t rot what’s not there”, Peter said with a smirk, making her roll her eyes and dig her heel into his hip.

“Seriously though, can we do something with the TV off?” 

“Like what?” Ned asked, raising a dubious eyebrow. 

“I don’t know”, she said with a sigh and lay back down against the arm of the couch. “Like… maybe we could play another type of game? You know, without any technology.”

Ned hummed. “Like ‘never have I ever’ or ‘truth or dare’?” He gave them a wink and Peter shot him a glare, feeling his cheeks getting hot.

Beside him, MJ laughed. “Come on, Leeds. You just want to play ‘spin the bottle’, don’t you?”

He laughed along. “You caught me.”

“Well, uh…” Peter reached up to rub his neck, trying to change the subject. “Do you have any, like, board games? Didn’t we use to play Monopoly a lot?”

“Yeah, I think I still have them.” He nodded. “I bet they’re somewhere in my room.”

“Monopoly sounds fun.” MJ shrugged. “Well, the board game, at least. Not in the real world.”

Peter saw her giving him a meaningful glance, and he felt the hint behind her words, even though it wasn’t really directed at him.

Ned, clearly unaware, stood up with a groan and stretched his arms out. “I’ll go look for it.” He stopped halfway to his room, turning around to look at his friends on the couch with a smile. “It’s probably way in the back of my closet, so, you know, it might take a while.”

Peter chewed on the inside of his cheek as he nodded. “Okay, thank you, Ned.”

He gave Peter a wink, another not very discreet gesture, and walked to his room, shutting the door behind him.

“You know”, MJ said, placing her feet on the floor and moving closer to Peter. “It’s almost like he’s leaving us alone on purpose.”

Peter hummed with a smile. “Almost.” He then bit his lip and sighed. “You know, I… I feel pretty bad about all of this.”

“About what?”

He reached up to rub his neck. “You know, the whole… lying thing.”

“Oh.”

“And I definitely don’t want to push you into having to tell him if you’re not ready yet, but…” He sighed again. “I just hate lying to my best friend.”

She looked at him for a beat, thinking, and then smiled softly with a shrug. “I guess we can tell him.”

Peter’s eyes widened. “Are you sure? I… If you’re not comfortable with it-”

“I am”, she said confidently, nodding. “I mean, Tony and May already know, and…” She hesitated for a moment, biting her lip, something Peter was not used to seeing. “Do you remember why I wanted us to wait?”

He nodded. “Yeah, you… wanted to be more sure about us, right?”

She looked down and traced the back of his hand with her finger. “Well, I… am now. More sure.”

That made Peter warm throughout his entire body, and even though it only was a few words they still meant a lot, especially considering how hard expressing feelings was to her. He placed a hand under her chin and lifted her head, smiling at her. “I am too.”

She smiled back and then leaned forward to press her lips against his softly.

He sighed into the kiss, feeling the tension that’s been building up between them the whole evening finally being let out. He placed a hand to the back of her head, threading his fingers through her hair, and the other on her hand resting on the couch between them.

She freed her hand from his grip and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him closer, intensifying the kiss. He placed his hand on her waist and used the hand in her hair to carefully pull her closer as well.

“Pull my hair”, she gasped against his lips after a few seconds.

“What?” he breathed, pulling back slightly to look at her.

“Pull my hair.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Just do it.”

He looked at her for another beat before tightening his grip in her hair, and her shoulders slumped as she arched and leaned forward, breathing hot hair against him in a low moan.

“Harder, Peter”, she groaned against his mouth, lightly taking his lower lip between her teeth.

Hearing her say his name like that pulled a groan from him as well, and he gripped her hair tighter, though still not letting himself pull too hard. She let out a low moan before catching his lips in another kiss.

A few seconds later he felt her tightening her arms around his neck, and she then threw her leg over his, straddling his lap. She moved her hands to his shirt, fisting it to pull them closer together.

“Ned”, he gasped after pulling away for air, unable to get any other words out. He looked up into her eyes, and saw that they were dark with hunger and lust. He’d seen that look before, but it’d never been this intense. 

“Don’t worry”, she whispered, breathless. “He’s probably planning on leaving us alone for a while. I bet he’s sitting in there with his phone right now.”

Peter breathed out a laugh. “I wouldn’t be surprised.”

She leaned down to kiss him again, eagerly, moving a hand up to fist his hair.

A moment later Peter almost froze as he felt her lowering herself against him, against his crotch, and a moan escaped his lips into her mouth.

“You like that, huh?” she breathed, and started moving her hips slightly.

He just nodded, unable to respond, tightening his grip on her waist.

He knew that what they were doing was reckless, but that thought was buried deep beneath this almost intoxicated feeling, this  _ it’s 9:30 at our friends house and we could be caught any second _ feeling. As if what they were doing was bad and not allowed, which only made it more exciting.

The movements of her hips increased, and he had to remind to stay silent as more and more moans escaped his lips. A moment later her head dropped to his shoulder, and he realized that this was doing the same to her as it was to him.

“You okay?” he gasped as she moved her hands to his arms, digging her nails into his skin.

“Yeah”, she breathed, her voice tense. “Are you hard?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and arched his back when she increased the pressure. “Yeah”, he groaned. “Are you… wet?”

She nodded and he couldn’t help a moan.

A few seconds later she pulled their bodies closer together, and as her torso pressed against his a stabbing pain suddenly hit his stomach. 

He immediately pulled back with a gasp, and moved his other hand to her waist to easily lift her off of him and onto the couch. 

She looked at him with a frown, but it quickly disappeared as Peter doubled in on himself and wrapped his arms around his middle with a whine.

“Peter?” she said worriedly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay? What’s going on?”

He groaned and dropped his head to his knees as the pain increased.

“Peter? Come on, talk to me.”

He then snapped his head up with a gasp, and in a few seconds he was off the couch and in the bathroom, dropping to his knees next to the toilet and heaving his stomach out into it.

His heart was in his ears and his entire body ached as he kept throwing up, the vomit burning his throat. He was gripping the toilet rim so hard his knuckles whitened, and he was shaking with how tense his muscles were.

After continuously throwing up for what felt like hours - but was realistically probably just a few seconds -, a soft hand was placed on his back, in between his shoulder blades.

“Ned?” he choked out between heaves, while also gasping for air. The hand started gently rubbing his back.

“No”, he heard MJ say softly. “It’s me.”

Another stab of pain distracted him from the embarrassment, and he continued throwing up.

“Oh shit”, he heard another voice say from a distance. “Is he okay?”

“Obviously not”, MJ answered, sounding frustrated. “You should probably call May.”

“Don’t”, Peter gasped out without looking up. “Please don’t-”

“Peter”, MJ cut him off with a stern voice. “We’re going to call May.”

He wanted to argue, but had no energy in his body to do so, and was instead hit with another wave of nausea. 

After a couple of minutes his stomach seemed to have been emptied, and after another minute of dry heaves and gagging he was finally allowed to breath properly. He folded his arms over the toilet rim, dropping his head to them.

The hand on his back disappeared, but a minute later it was softly pressing against his forehead, carefully lifting his head up. He felt a glass of water against his lips, and rinsed his mouth out with it before spitting it into the toilet and then taking another sip, swallowing.

“Thank you”, he mumbled, but it sounded more like a grunt. 

His head was carefully lowered to his arms again, and after hearing the glass being placed on tile he felt two hands gripping his shoulders. “Peter”, MJ said softly. “Can you sit up? Let’s move you to the wall.”

Peter let out a small whine, but allowed MJ to straighten and move him to the wall next to the toilet. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, trying to fight the nausea that still wasn’t completely gone yet.

A cold, damp cloth was draped over his forehead, and he sighed with relief. He hadn’t even noticed his pounding headache until now.

“How are you feeling?” MJ asked, rubbing his arm.

“I mean, I’m not throwing up anymore”, Peter answered, but the lack of energy in his voice took away the humor in his reply. “So, uh, better.”

“Do you still feel nauseous?”

“A bit, but not too much.”

They sat in silence for a minute, Peter trying to relax by taking deep breaths, until he heard MJ shift beside him. He cracked an eye open and saw her standing up.

“We should get you to the couch.”

He frowned, feeling too tired to move. “I’m comfortable on the floor.”

“It smells like vomit in here. If we stay here any longer I’ll soon be the one throwing up.”

Peter sighed but nodded, closing his eyes. A second later he felt MJ hook her arms underneath his armpits, and was once again shocked by her strength as she easily lifted him to his feet. With wobbly legs and an arm around MJ’s shoulders he slowly made his way to the couch, sighing with relief as he was laid down. He felt her sitting down next to his feet.

“Dude”, he heard Ned say as he approached the living room. “Are you okay?”

Peter opened his eyes to look at him and gave him a faint smile. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m, uh, really sorry though, if you need any help cleaning the bathroom later-”

“Nah, dude.” Ned dismissed him with a small wave. “Don’t worry about it.”

Peter nodded gratefully and closed his eyes again.

“Oh, and I called May. She’ll be here any minute.”

He opened his eyes again and groaned. “You really didn’t have to do that.”

MJ rolled her eyes. “Would you just stop it with this whole pride thing? If you’re heaving your stomach out we have to call someone, okay? There’s no need to be a brat about it.”

“I’m not a brat”, Peter said, furrowing his eyebrows and pouting.

MJ huffed and placed a hand on his shin, squeezing it. “Yeah, and I’m not a sarcastic bitch.”

Peter wanted to respond with  _ you’re not _ , but bit his tongue as Ned was still in the room.

“What could it be, anyways?” Ned asked, sitting down in one of the chairs. “Is it the flu?”

Peter thought for a second. “I don’t think so. I don’t really feel sick, at least not in that way.”

MJ leaned forward and placed the back of her hand against his neck, and he looked away from Ned as his breathing hitched slightly.

“You don’t feel very hot”, she said, withdrawing her hand and leaning back.

Ned hummed. “You’ve probably just eaten something bad. I doubt it’s a virus considering, you know, the whole Spider-Man thing.”

It went silent, and he felt an awkward tension between him and MJ. They still hadn’t really talked about the Spider-Man thing, and he realized with slight horror that he still hadn’t apologized to her face for lying about it to her.

He cleared his throat. “Maybe it’s, uh, food poisoning? From the takeout?”

Ned furrowed his eyebrows thoughtfully. “Maybe. But shouldn’t we all have gotten it then? Or maybe not since we all ordered different-”

He was cut off by a knock on the door, soft but rapid. He got up from the chair and made his way over to open it. Peter closed his eyes, sighing, and felt MJ squeezing his leg comfortingly. 

“Hi, May”, he heard Ned say, and then there was a slight pause. “And, uh, hi… Mr Tony Stark.”

Peter opened his eyes and lifted his head to look over the back of the couch toward the door. May was standing in front of Ned, and behind her stood Tony, both of them in sweats.

“Hi there”, Tony said, taking a step forward to shake hands with a starstruck Ned.

“Uh, sir, I just want to apologize for everything I’ve, um, done with you suit. Or, I mean, technically it’s Peter’s suit, even though you made it, b-but I-”

“Don’t sweat it kid”, Tony cut him off with a wave, walking into the apartment. “Where’s the puker?”

“Um, over there”, Ned said, pointing toward the couch.

Tony and May locked eyes with Peter and made their way over to him.

“Oh, honey”, May sighed, sitting down on the arm of the couch next to his head and placed a hand on his cheek. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine, May.”

“The smell from the bathroom tells me otherwise”, Tony said, standing in front of the couch.

May rolled her eyes, but then looked over at MJ with a soft smile. “I hope this doesn’t ruin your date tomorrow.”

It went silent, and Peter closed his eyes with an exhale.

“Their  _ what _ ?”

_ Fuck. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm going on a week long trip to Greece tomorrow, and I'm not sure I'll be able to post while I'm there. I'll try to write as much as possible, but expect a new chapter sometime later into next week.  
> Also, don't forget to check out my [twitter account](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00) ;)  
> See ya next time!


	30. I'm sorry

“Wait, what’s going on? Are you guys… a  _ date _ ?”

Peter opened his eyes, and quickly looked away as he was met by Ned’s burning gaze. May looked around the room with furrowed eyebrow, glancing from MJ to Ned to Peter, before widening her eyes. 

“Wait, he doesn’t…?”

Peter sighed and closed his eyes, shaking his head. 

“Oh, I’m… I’m so sorry, I didn’t-“

“I don’t what?” Ned was starting to look frustrated now. “Can someone  _ please  _ explain to me what’s going on?”

It went silent again. Tony was the only one who looked somewhat unbothered, scrolling through his phone with a few glances around the room. 

“Peter and I are going on a date tomorrow”, MJ said softly, matter-of-factly, with a small shrug. But Peter could see through her nonchalant act and knew that it wasn’t that easy for her to admit something like this, especially since she didn’t want him to know yet. 

“Why? Are you guys, like…?” He looked between Peter and MJ, and Peter could see how he had the rest of the sentence on the tip of his tongue, but didn’t want to say it. 

“Together”, Peter finished for him.

Another beat of silent passed before Ned spoke again. “How long?”

Peter looked away, unable to stand the broken look on his friends face. “Um, just… a few days.”

He knew though that it wouldn’t matter whether they’d been together two days or ten years; he’d still lied to his best friend about it.

“I’m sorry, Ned”, MJ said, slowly standing up from the couch. “We… just didn’t want anyone to know yet.”

Ned nodded toward May with a huff, looking at MJ with small - though the biggest one Peter had ever seen - glare. “Except for them?”

She put her hands in her pockets and shifted on her feet, shrugging. It was the first time Peter had ever seen her speechless.

Ned looked between her and Peter for a moment before taking a deep breath. “You guys should probably go now.”

May nodded and stood up, taking a step aside to allow Tony to gather Peter in his arms. The guilt overshadowed all embarrassment he would’ve normally felt in that kind of situation. “I’m sorry, man”, he mumbled, knowing it was a lame apology. 

“Yeah, just… get better, alright? And, um… MJ, do you have a way to get home?”

“We’ll drive her”, Tony said before she had time to answer, making his way toward the door with Peter in his arms.

“Thank you, Mr Stark, but that’s really not nec-”

“Nonsense.” He stopped at the door to let May open it, looking back at MJ. “We’ll drive past you block anyways, so.”

She nodded and looked back at Ned. “I’m really sorry.”

He pursed his lips and nodded. “Thanks.”

She looked at him for another beat before turning around and following the others out the door. Peter had to once again look away as Ned walked up to close it behind them.

 

-

 

The nausea still hadn’t left completely, and Peter spent the entire car ride with his head against the window and his hand in MJ’s. They didn’t talk, but kept squeezing and rubbing their thumbs against each other’s hands. 

When they stopped at her apartment she leaned over to press a kiss to Peter’s cheek. He opened his eyes slightly, turned his head toward her and gave her a weak smile. She smiled back, giving his hand one last, reassuring squeeze.

“I’ll call you tomorrow morning.”

He nodded. “Goodnight, MJ.”

“Goodnight, Peter.” She looked up at Tony. “Thanks for the ride.”

He smiled at her in the rearview mirror. “Anytime.”

“Goodnight, sweetie”, May said and turned around in her seat, giving her a smile.

“Goodnight, May.” She hesitated for a beat. “Night, Tony.”

“Night.”

She got out of the car and Tony started the engine again, driving off.

“So”, Tony said after a few minutes of silence. “What was more awkward, the situation at Ned’s or our little game of ‘hot potato’ with saying goodnight?”

May rolled her eyes with a sigh. “Why was that awkward?”

Tony shrugged with a smile. “Just trying to lighten the mood.”

“I don’t really think that’s helping. Just…” She looked back at Peter, probably thinking that he was asleep since his eyes were closed. “Let’s not bring this up anymore tonight, okay? We should instead focus on finding out what’s wrong with him.”

“F.R.I.D.A.Y already looked that up”, he said calmly. “Food poisoning.”

“Oh.” He heard her move in her seat, probably to look back at him. “So he’s fine?”

“Yeah. He might get sick again, but unless it gets worse than that we don’t have to worry.”

She let out a sigh of relief, and he felt her hand on his knee. “Thank god.”

Tony sighed too. “I know.”

The rest of the car ride went in silence, and when they stopped Peter opened his eyes with a yawn and got out. They all walked together back to the apartment, and Peter realized how normal it felt that Tony followed them home. 

Tony and May got on the couch, and since Peter’s nausea was almost gone he decided to join them while they watched a movie. 

“Hey, I can, um, still go to the restaurant with MJ tomorrow, right?” Peter asked a few minutes into the movie. 

May looked down at him with furrowed eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You weren’t feeling very good a minute ago.”

“Yeah, but I-I feel much better now!” Peter argued. “Please? I promised her, and, and I promise that if I start feeling sick again I’ll go home, okay?”

May studied for a moment before sighing with a small smile. “Alright then.”

He smiled and leaned his head against her shoulder. “You’re the best.”

“Where are you guys going?” Tony asked from Peter’s other side while scrolling through his phone, probably catching up on some work. 

“To this Indian place, I, uh, don’t really remember the name, but I have it on my phone. It’s nice, but you know, not too expensive. And it’s pretty close to both of us.”

Tony hummed. “At what time do you have your reservation?”

Peter hesitated for a beat. “Well, um, I was thinking that maybe we’d be there at, like, six.”

Tony looked up from his phone with an arched eyebrow. “Wait, kid, you haven’t made a reservation?”

He bit his lip and reached a hand up to rub his neck. “Um, no?”

“Well, you’re not getting a table at a restaurant on a Saturday night without a reservation.”

He sighed and looked down. “I didn’t know that”, he mumbled. He glanced up again. “You, uh, think I can call them now?”

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. “It’s probably a bit too late now.” He shrugged. “But you can always try.”

Peter nodded and quickly fished his phone out of his pocket, searching for the restaurant’s number and dialed it. He sighed when someone picked up, relieved that they were still open. 

“Hey, um, my name’s Peter and I’d, uh, like to make a reservation for tomorrow at six.”

“Unfortunately we’re completely booked tomorrow and Sunday. Would you like a reservation for Monday instead?”

Peter slumped his shoulders and dropped his head, biting back a sigh. “No thank you, that’s okay.”

After ending the call he dropped his phone to the couch with a groan, putting his face in his hands. “Well, there goes my plans for tomorrow.”

“Not necessarily.”

He lifted his head to watch Tony place his own phone to his ear. 

“The restaurant Peter just called, Fri.”

It went quiet for a few seconds. Peter tapped his fingers nervously against his knee, and May leaned in front of him to look curiously at Tony.

“Yes, hello”, he suddenly exclaimed, making Peter jump slightly in his seat. “My name is Tony Stark, and- … yes,  _ that _ Tony Stark. Uh huh. Well, I’d like to make a reservation for tomorrow, if that’s possible. Ah, perfect.”

Peter’s eyes widened and Tony looked over at him with a wink. 

“You see, I have this intern who wants to celebrate getting his internship expanded to the end of summer with a friend. Two people, yes. Six would be perfect. Uh huh. Mr Parker and Ms Jones. Thank you very much. Oh I will, definitely. You too. Bye.”

He hung up and started casually scrolling through his phone again. “You’ve got a reservation at six, if you didn’t catch that.”

Peter’s face broke into a smile and he wrapped his arms tightly around Tony. “Thank you, thank you,  _ thank you _ !”

Tony chuckled and hugged him back. “You’re welcome, kid. You probably shouldn’t tell Michelle about this, though.”

He pulled back and looked at him with an arched eyebrow. “Why?”

Tony shrugged. “I’m guessing she wouldn’t really like me using my position and status to get what I want.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “And you’re basing that on  _ what _ exactly?”

A small smile formed on Tony’s lips. “Again, just guessing, Peter.” He looked at him for a beat before continuing, “She’s a socialist, right?”

May sighed. “Tony.”

“What? We’re just having a discussion about politics.”

“Well, that was a bit unnecessary.”

Peter ignored their banter, looking at Tony with furrowed eyebrows. He didn’t know why, but him making assumptions about MJ’s political views really bothered him for some reason. Even though he necessarily wasn’t wrong. “And what are you basing  _ that  _ on?”

Tony’s smile didn’t fade. “I’ve seen the way she looks at me, Peter. As though she wanted Karl Marx to personally walk up to me and beat the living shit out of me.”

“Tony.”

“Yes, language, sorry.” He looked back at Peter. “And I saw the book in your room. About patriarchy. Either she gave it to you or you’re reading up on the subject to impress her.”

Peter had totally forgotten about that book, but the thought quickly passed. He didn’t really know what else to say to Tony. The man was right, there was no denying that, but there was still something bothering him about this whole thing. Maybe it was the fact that he’d talked with a mocking grin glued to his face, as if all of this was ridiculous to him.

Without really thinking about it, Peter raised his chin slightly and narrowed his eyes, still with furrowed eyebrows. “So what? Is there something wrong with that?”

“Please!” May exclaimed, rubbing her temples. “Are you boys finished?”

Tony and Peter silently stared at each other for a moment before Tony breathed a small laugh and placed a hand on his shoulder. “Didn’t mean to upset you, kid. I was just speculating.”

“Yeah, well, you should talk about this with her instead”, he mumbled, but the heat behind his words had disappeared. 

Tony hummed. “Maybe I will.”

May sighed. “Can we continue watching the movie now?”

And so they did, but after just a couple of minutes Peter felt the familiar feeling of guilt increase until it became almost unbearable. 

He looked at the time on his phone screen.  _ 10:41.  _

“Uh, I’m just gonna make a quick phone call, but you guys can keep watching.”

Tony looked at him as he stood up from the couch with an arched eyebrow and a smirk. “Calling your girlfriend, huh?”

“That’s not funny anymore since she actually  _ is  _ my girlfriend now.”

He snorted a laugh. “That’s true.”

Peter reached up to rub his neck. “But I was actually thinking about calling, um, Ned.”

Both Tony and May looked up at him. 

“Is that a bad idea?”

“Oh, no”, May answered, shaking her head firmly. “I’m just worried he might be asleep, is all. But you should definitely try calling him and talk all this through.”

“Yeah, I agree.”

Peter took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay, thanks guys. Uh, and if don’t come back out afterwards, then, well, goodnight.” 

“Goodnight sweetie”, May said with a smile. “And If you start to feel sick again just come to us, okay?”

“Yeah, I will. Night.”

“Night, kiddo.”

Peter made his way to his room and sat down on the bed with a sigh. It took him a couple of minutes to gather the courage to pick up the phone and call his friend. He scooted back until he was sitting with his back against the wall, a position he usually sat in while talking to his friend, though this phone call would probably be much different than the others. 

After the fifth signal he heard Ned pick up, but there was no greeting. 

Peter sighed. “Hey, Ned.”

It was silent on the other end for a few more seconds before his friend spoke, “ _ Hey, Peter. _ ”

“Look, dude, I am so,  _ so  _ sorry. I wanted to tell you so bad, but I… I just couldn’t.”

He went silent and waited for a response. 

Ned took a deep breath. “ _ Why couldn’t you tell me? I thought I was your best friend. _ ”

Peter squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his jaw. “You are”, he said in a low voice, almost a whisper. “Ned, you’ve always been my best friend, and you always will be. It’s just that she… MJ has a really hard time with feelings, which I know you know, and she wanted to wait with telling everyone about… this.”

Ned huffed on the other end. “ _ But you told Tony and May _ ”, he spat out. It wasn’t a question. 

And that was the thing, wasn’t it? He could come up with whatever excuse for why they lied to him, but the fact that they told Tony and May first would always remain. 

He sighed and put his face in his free hand. “I know, and… I’m  _ so  _ sorry, Ned. The only reason we told them first was because we had to ask them about our… date tomorrow. I really wanted to tell you too, and we were going to, but… May got there first.”

Ned didn’t respond, and Peter knew that it all sounded like some made up excuse. For all Ned knew, they could have planned on never telling him. 

“I promise”, Peter whispered, grasping at straws. “Ned, I couldn’t keep this from you for long even if I wanted to. God, I wanted to tell you. But… can-can’t you see this from MJ’s point of view? We got together, like, Sunday, and she’s  _ still  _ trying to process that fact. Going to school on Monday was probably hard enough for her already, and I just wanted to help her make it as easy as I possibly could. And that costed me having to lie to my best friend, which I am so,  _ so _ sorry for.”

There was another moment of silence, and Peter felt tears trickle down his cheeks. He then finally heard Ned let out a sigh. 

“ _ You really care about her, don’t you? _ ”

The much lighter tone to Ned’s voice made Peter smile through his tears, and he nodded even though he knew his friend couldn’t see it. “Yeah. I… I love her.”

Ned huffed out a small laugh. “ _ Damn, dude, that was quick. When’s the wedding? _ ”

Peter laughed back, and felt the lump in his stomach ease. He wiped away the tears. “Will you be my best man?”

Ned let out another huff. “ _ Who would do a better job than me, huh? _ ”

His cheeks ached as his smile continued growing. “No one.”

It went silent again, though it wasn’t filled with any tension this time. 

“Hey, uh… do you think MJ and I could come by tomorrow? You know, to sort all this out.”

He heard Ned take a deep breath. “ _ Yeah, I… I think that’d be good. _ ”

Peter smiled again. “Okay, good. At, like, five? Then we can stay half an hour. Is that okay?”

“ _ Yeah, that’s fine. _ ”

“Okay.” He exhaled. “And… Ned, again, I’m  _ so  _ sorry.”

Ned was silent for a beat before responding, “ _ Yeah it’s… it’s okay. _ ”

After hanging up Peter immediately called MJ. 

“ _ Hey _ ”, she said after picking up on the second signal. “ _ How are you feeling? _ ”

“Much better”, Peter answered, smiling as usual from hearing her voice. “I talked to Ned.”

“ _ Is he stilled pissed? _ ”

“Well, he was at first, but I tried to explain everything and he sounded much more understanding at the end.”

“ _ Oh, good _ ”, MJ exhaled, sounding relieved. 

Peter nodded. “Yeah. And, uh, if you don’t mind, I told him we’d be at his place at five tomorrow to talk everything through with him. It’s an hour before our reservation, at six.”

“ _ Yeah, that’s fine. We should talk to him face to face about it. _ ” It went silent for a beat. “ _ So what’s the plan for tomorrow? What should I do with all my stuff? _ ”

“Stuff?” Peter asked confused. 

He could basically hear her roll her eyes. “ _ For staying the night? That’s still on, right? _ ”

“Oh, yeah, yeah, of course”, Peter reassured. “Um, since we’re going to Ned’s maybe you could stop by my place before to leave your stuff and then we’ll walk there together? Then you won’t have bring it with you to the restaurant.”

“ _ Sounds like a plan _ ”, she agreed. Her tone of voice then immediately changed, in that quick way that was so MJ. “ _ I can’t wait to spend the night with you. _ ”

“Yeah, me neither.” He sighed. “I just hope the worry will have left before then. This whole Ned thing is still kind of eating me up.”

“ _ I understand that _ ”, she said soothingly. “ _ Just try not to think about it, okay? You’ve talked to Ned and he understands, and we’ll both talk to him tomorrow again. Everything will be fine, and the two of you will soon be back to playing video games and gushing over nerdy stuff. _ ” 

Peter tried to sound offended, but couldn’t help huffing out a small laugh. “Thank you”, he said sincerely. 

“ _ And in the meantime, you want me to distract you? _ ” The tone in her voice was back. 

He leaned his head back against the wall with an exhale. “Please.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the wait! I came back from my one week vacation last Tuesday, and last Sunday I went on my next vacation, which I will be on for another two weeks. It'll be a bit hard to find the time to write and post (I know, poor me, right?), but I'll do my best and hopefully post at least one more chapter before I go home.  
> Don't forget to check out my [twitter](https://twitter.com/saladqueen00) ;)  
> See ya next time!


	31. Date night

Peter looked down at the jar of hair product in his hands, then up at himself in the mirror. His hair was still dripping from the shower, and he grabbed his towel from the counter to quickly dry it off. 

Once his hair was somewhat dry he looked down at the jar again. He never knew the day would come when making such an easy decision would be so hard.

He usually put at least some product in his hair to tame his curls, but ever since MJ had told him that she liked them during their sleepover he’d thought about leaving them be. He personally thought it looked childish and messy, but if MJ liked it, well…

With a sigh he put the lid back on and placed the jar on the counter. He looked up in the mirror and tightened the towel around his waist before grabbing a hairbrush off the counter, combing through his forming curls.

The sound of the doorbell ringing stopped him midway, and he dropped the hairbrush back to the counter with widened eyes and a low  _ “shit” _ under his breath. 

“Peter!” he heard May calling from the other side of the apartment. “Michelle’s here!”

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back with furrowed eyebrows, muttering yet another curse word. 

“Yeah, uh, just send her to my room and tell her I’ll be there in a minute”, he called back, frantically searching the counter and cabinet for the after shave Tony had left.

After he’d applied a little bit on his skin (well, at least he thought it was just a little bit - he hadn’t actually used that stuff before) he was just about to unwrap his towel to get dressed when the bathroom door suddenly swung open.

In his shock and hurry to cover himself again he almost tripped on the slippery floor, just managing to grab the edge of the counter and avoiding a concussion. He looked up to see his girlfriend in the doorway with a grin plastered on her face.

“Jesus, MJ!” he exclaimed and stood up, tightening his grip on the towel. He felt a deep blush starting to spread across his cheeks.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t see anything”, she said with a small, dismissive wave and closed the door behind her.

“Still, I… I’m…” He let one hand go of the towel to rub it against his neck. “I’m  _ naked _ .”

MJ just snorted, walking up to the counter and hopping on it. “You’re wearing a towel.”

“Yeah, but…  _ beneath _ that.”

“So?” She gestured down her body. “I’m naked beneath my clothes too.”

The motion drew Peter’s attention downwards, and he then noticed her unusual outfit. She was wearing a mid thigh, yellow denim skirt with a white button-up, and when he looked up again he saw that her hair was slicked back with a bun on top of her head.

“Wow”, he breathed.

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”

“You just… look so beautiful.”

She rolled her eyes, huffing, but then looked back at him with a smirk and arched eyebrow. “You too.”

That reminded Peter of his current state, and he carefully pulled his towel farther up without making it fall open. “Yeah, um… I was just about to, uh, get dressed.”

She shrugged and leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest. “Go ahead. Just tell me when to close my eyes and I will.” She smirked. “Even though I, you know, would prefer not to.”

Peter gulped and turned around to face the toilet before she could see his darkening blush. “I, uh, haven’t decided what to wear yet.” He picked up his clothes from on top the toilet lid.

“Well, let me see and I’ll help you pick.”

He turned back around, still with a tight grip on his towel, and showed her the jeans shorts, red T-shirt, light blue button-up and beige shorts. He’d had such a hard to deciding what to wear he ended up bringing all his clothes with him to the bathroom. 

“I like the beige shorts and button-up.”

“Yeah? It’s not too fancy?”

“Definitely not. We  _ are _ going to a restaurant after all, genius.”

He rolled his eyes, but stopped quickly when he realized his next dilemma. 

“Um, I have to put this on now.”

“Yeah, I understand that.”

He bit his lip. “Well, would you please close your eyes?”

She shot him a teasing smirk before complying.

He took a deep breath, turned around, dropped the towel and quickly got dressed. When he turned back around he was relieved to see that her eyes were still closed.

“Done.”

She cracked an eye opened before opening them fully. “Wow”, she said, arching an eyebrow. “You look good. Really good.”

He gave her a warm, genuine smile before walking up to her and placing his hands on the counter on either side of her hips. She reached up to wrap her arms around his neck, bringing him down for a kiss, which he happily returned. 

She wrapped her legs around his waist to pull him in closer, and he placed his hands on her hips, squeezing slightly. She dropped one hand from his neck to the hem of his shirt and then slowly started running it up his stomach, beneath the shirt. His breath hitched. 

“Yeah, you like that?” she whispered against his lips, and then used her nails to lightly graze his skin as she brought her hand down again.

He nodded and tightened the grip on her hips.

When she’d reached the hem again she lowered her hand further and traced the skin just beneath the hem of his jeans with her finger. His lips opened slightly and a soft moan escaped his lips.

Suddenly there was a loud bang on the door, making both of them jump and withdraw their hands from each other. 

“Hurry up in there, kids”, he heard Tony shout from outside. “I have to pee.”

Peter took a step back and reached up to rub his neck, clearing his throat. “Well, I, uh, guess we should get going to Ned’s.”

“Isn’t it a bit early?”

He shrugged. “He probably won’t mind.”

MJ nodded, hopped down from the counter, and walked up to Peter to give him a quick kiss. “Let’s go get our friend back.”

He gave her a smile and placed a hand on her lower back to lead her out of the bathroom.

 

-

 

The meeting with Ned had gone surprisingly well. Sure, he’d still been a bit pissed when they first arrived, but when MJ was there as well to explain their side of their situation he eased up fairly quickly, and even said that he almost understood why they did it. That was enough for Peter to feel relieved again, and he pulled his best friend in for a hug, which he happily returned. MJ just rolled her eyes, but gave Ned a quick fist bump. 

“So how far have you guys… you know.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “What?”

“How far have you gone?”

He glanced over at MJ, who had her lips tightly pressed together, then back at Ned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Ned rolled his eyes with a dramatic sigh. “Have you had sex yet?”

He felt his cheeks starting to burn with a deep blush. MJ just snorted, and wrapped her arms over his chest from behind. “Wouldn’t you like to know, huh?”

“We haven’t!”, Peter said quickly before Ned had time to respond, grabbing MJ’s arms to pull them off, but kept a grip on one of her hands. “We, uh, no, we haven’t.”

“Unfortunately”, she mumbled, and he looked back to see her wiggling her eyebrows. He sighed.

“Well, I still don’t believe that nothing more serious happened during that sleepover”, Ned said with a smirk, taking a sip of his soda.

Peter rolled his eyes. “Dude, do you really think we’d lie to you after coming all the way over here just to apologize for doing just that?”

Ned shrugged. “Would you have told me if you’d had sex with her?”

He opened his mouth to immediately say  _ yes _ , but closed it a moment later. Would he? He knew he didn’t want to lie to Ned anymore, but…  _ that _ just seemed like such a private thing, even more than them being a couple. Sure, him and Ned had talked about that stuff loads of times, but now it would involve another person. He’d talked about kissing techniques with Ned in the past, but would he feel comfortable talking with him about what kissing MJ was like? Probably not.

“I… I don’t…” He reached a hand up to rub his neck, unsure of what he should say.

But Ned just huffed with a smile and clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Dude, don’t sweat it. Not everyone likes to talk openly about that stuff. I get it.”

He gave his friend a thankful smile and nodded. 

 

-

 

“Would you be comfortable with that?”

MJ turned her head back around to look at him. “Huh?”

“You know”, he mumbled, kicking an empty soda can on the ground as they walked along the sidewalk toward the restaurant. “Talking with your friends about… that private stuff.”

“Oh, yeah”, she answered, putting her hands in the back pockets of her skirt. “Well, probably. Maybe not the details, but you know, I’d tell them if I lost my virginity.” She looked back at him. “Why?”

“Well, it’s just that…” He reached up to rub his neck. “I’m not sure I’d be comfortable with talking to Ned about that, and… I don’t know, I feel a bit bad, I guess. He’s my best friend, after all, and he’d probably tell me if he… yeah, you know.”

“You shouldn’t stress about that, Peter.” She grabbed his hand from his neck and intertwined their fingers, letting their connected hands sway between them. He looked up and arched an eyebrow at her. “You always do that when you’re anxious”, she said with a half-smile that made Peter’s chest warm. “And, yeah, that’s nothing you should worry about. Ned said it himself, some people just aren’t comfortable with that. It doesn’t make you any worse of a friend.”

He gave her a genuine smile and squeezed her hand. “Thanks. And, well, it’s not like I can’t talk about that subject  _ at all _ , it’s just… I-, I don’t think I’d talk about, you know, the stuff you and I do.”

She huffed, but kept her smile. “Well, that makes even  _ more _ sense. And if it makes you feel any better, you’re technically not hiding anything from Ned since we haven’t done anything yet.”

He narrowed his eyes, but his smile didn’t falter. “We-, we’ve done stuff. Haven’t we?”

She rolled her eyes with another huff. “Yeah, if you call just kissing ‘stuff’.”

“Oh, come on, we’ve-” He looked around quickly to make sure no one was close enough to hear them, but the street was fairly empty. “We’ve done more than kissing”, he finished, lowering his voice to basically a whisper. “You know, yesterday at Ned’s…”

She hummed. “Like when I grinded on you?” And  _ of course  _ she didn’t lower her voice in the slightest. 

He pressed his lips together tightly, but couldn’t help a small laugh. “Yeah.”

She shrugged. “I guess that could be considered ‘stuff’.” Her smile grew as she looked up at him again. “So we do have something juicy, huh?”

A blush started spreading, burning deep within his cheeks. He looked down at the ground, still with a smile on his lips. “I guess so.”

“We sure a dirty”, she said, and the sarcasm in her voice made him look up again. “We’ve almost reached second base. Wow, we’re such reckless teenagers, Peter.”

That made him laugh out loud, and a few people around them gave him weird looks, though he barely noticed. “So reckless.”

“Extremely.”

They laughed a little more and then kept walking as silence fell. Their intertwined hands kept swaying between them, with occasional squeezes and thumb-rubs. Even though they were both quiet it was still nice, comfortable.

But then something came to Peter’s mind, something he’d thought briefly of before, but never talked about.

“Uh, MJ?”

“Hm?”

He was about to reach up to rub his neck, but knew that she would notice his nervousness then, and instead started fiddling with the hem of his shirt with the hand that wasn’t currently holding MJ’s.

“Um, I was just thinking about, you know, the thing we talked about before?”

“Yeah?”

He exhaled, dropping his gaze to the ground. “I was just wondering if… Okay, so, you know how you sometimes talk about, uh, more… sexual stuff? And I-, I was just thinking, wondering, if it bothers you that we… um, that we’re not…”

“Peter, are you asking me if I think we’re taking our physical relationship too slow?”

He looked up at her and felt the blush return as he saw the smile on her face. “Uh, yeah, basically.”

She looked away and exhaled, thinking about her answer for a few seconds. “Well, I… okay, I want to say ‘no’, but since we’re together and  _ open _ to each other and all, I’m going to be completely honest and say that I wouldn’t mind if things went a bit faster, but I also definitely don’t mind the pace we’re at right now.” She looked back at him with a smile. “The most important thing is that we’re both comfortable. And we  _ have _ only been together for like a week. I think we’re moving as fast as normal couples are.”

He gave her a small smile. “Yeah, I know, it’s just… We’ve been doing stuff a little longer than we’ve actually been together, and already at the sleepover you seemed… uh, a bit  _ eager _ for, um, more.”

She couldn’t hold back a small laugh at that, and the sound made Peter’s smile grow. “Yeah, that’s true. And you’re right about me being  _ a bit eager for more _ ”, he rolled his eyes as she let out another mocking laughter, “but then again, I’m fine with the way things are. So no pressure, alright? Don’t feel like you have to take things faster, promise?”

He nodded and gave her hand a tight squeeze. “I promise.”

She smiled and squeezed back.

“Just promise me one thing in return, alright?”

“What?”

“Please don’t shout in the middle of the street that you’ve grinded on me ever again.”

That made her laugh, loud and clear, and it was so contagious that they had people staring at them the rest of the way until they reached the restaurant. 

 

-

 

As soon as they entered the restaurant Peter was grateful that he’d chosen the nicest of his outfits, though he still felt a bit underdressed. He glanced over at MJ to hopefully get some reassurance since she wasn’t wearing a fancy dress or anything either, and, well, she could’ve walked in wearing a potato sack and still fit in with her beauty. 

“Good evening, do you have a reservation?” A waitress with a similar hairdo to MJ’s walked up to them. 

“Uh, yeah, Mr Parker and Ms Jones?”

She nodded and gave them a smile. “Right this way, please.”

She led them into the restaurant and to the left side where most of the small tables for two were. 

“Would you like something to drink?”

Peter looked at MJ with a smile to show that she could order first, and she rolled her eyes slightly before saying, “I’ll take still water, please.”

The waitress scribbled it down on her notepad before looking up at Peter.

“Uh, I’ll take the same, please.”

She gave them a smile and then walked away. 

Peter eyed MJ with an arched eyebrow. “You’re not ordering plain water just because it’s cheaper, are you?”

She shrugged and placed her elbow on the table, resting her chin in her palm. “Soda rots your teeth.”

“Yet you still drink it.”

She gave him a half-smile. “I actually prefer orange juice.”

He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. “Then how come you didn’t order that?”

She sighed and rolled her eyes again, then reached her free hand across the table to place it on top of Peter’s. “Ordering water is not a big deal, Peter. Let’s just relax and enjoy ourselves tonight, alright?”

He exhaled and nodded. “Yeah, you’re right.” He arched an eyebrow. “You’re not going to order a cracker for dinner, are you?”

She laughed and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. “I promise.”

He smiled back at her, but then silence fell as she kept staring at him. Or, rather, she was staring right above him. 

“What are you looking at?” he asked with furrowed eyebrows. 

“Are you not wearing any product in your hair?” She leaned forward again and ran her hand through his curls, and the sudden intimacy made Peter unable to respond for a few seconds. 

“Uh, yeah, no, I’m not”, a stammered, trying to ignore the feeling of her nails against his scalp and the shivers it sent down his spine. 

“How come?” she asked with an arched eyebrow as she withdrew her hand. 

“Uh, well…” Before he could stop himself he was reaching up to rub his neck. “I was thinking that you’d like it.”

“Yeah, well, I do, but how’d you know that?”

He bit his lip and let out a small huff. “You, um, you told me.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “When?”

He let his arm fall to his side with a sigh. “During the sleepover.”

She inhaled and was quiet for a few seconds before breathing out a small huff. “Oh. Well, that makes sense.” She looked up at his hair again and put on that half-smile. “It looks really good.”

He huffed and reached up to run a hand through his hair. “It looks messy.”

“Yeah, but in a good way.” She tilted her head to the side, narrowing her eyes. “Kind of like… bed hair.”

Before he had time to respond the waitress came back with their water. 

“Oh, and I just wanted to congratulate you, Mr Parker, on your Stark internship.” She flashed him a smile. “You’re very lucky to have gotten it, especially at such a young age.”

MJ snapped her head toward him, staring intently, and he had to clear his throat before being able to respond. “Uh, yeah, I am”, he mumbled, looking down at the table. “Thanks.”

After she’d left he still felt MJ’s burning gaze on him, but he kept his eyes downcast. 

“ _ Stark internship _ ?”

He sighed and finally looked up at her. Well, she didn’t look  _ furious _ , at least not yet. 

“Look, MJ, I…”

“Well, if it isn’t Peter Parker and Michelle Jones. I go on vacation to Miami for two weeks and you two dorks get together?”

They both snapped their heads up, and Peter bit back a groan. 

Flash Thompson. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry for the wait, but I'm offically home from my vacations and I'll try to post weekly again from now on :)  
> See ya next time!


	32. McDonald's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Phew, this is one of the longest chapters I've written. I hope you guys enjoy it!

Flash and his date - a blonde girl Peter recognized as a senior, who hadn’t looked up from her phone once since they walked in - sat down at the table next to them, a huge grin plastered to Flash’s face. 

“Who could’ve guessed, huh? I’d make a joke about community service, but, well, that could really apply to any one of you.”

“Why don’t you go have low self esteem somewhere else?” MJ said nonchalantly, not taking her eyes away from the menu she had opened. 

Flash huffed. “I’ve actually had a reservation here for two days. How come you guys managed to get in? You need connections, like my dad.”

MJ glanced up at Peter over her menu. He cleared his throat and looked down at the table.

“We, uh, we’ve had this reservation for a couple of days.”

Flash hummed absentmindedly, waved a waiter over and ordered expensive drinks for him and his date - who still hadn’t looked up from her phone.

Unable to relax with Flash next to him, Peter just kept pretending to read the menu and sneaked glances at MJ, who was doing the same thing with a slightly annoyed expression on her face.

Suddenly his phone started buzzing, and he fished it out of his pocket to turn it off.

“Who is it?” MJ asked.

“It’s Ned. I’ll text him back later.” He put it back in his pocket.

“Gotta ask, Parker”, Flash piped up, and Peter bit back a groan. “Does your girlfriend know about your  _ very _ close relationship with your friend Ned?”

“Does  _ yours _ know that you bully kids on a daily, most likely due to the insecurity of having a small penis?” MJ was quick to respond, making the edges of Peter’s lips curve upward.

That made the blonde senior glance up at Flash for a second, who was glaring at MJ with a furious expression. “Wow, the stalker can talk”, he huffed. “You know,  _ Michelle _ , I’m honestly surprised you managed to get a boyfriend, considering you don’t have any friends.”

“Hey!” Peter exclaimed, straightening in his seat and turning toward Flash. “ _ Do not _ talk to her like that.”

He let out a short, loud laugh. “Yeah? What you gonna do about it, Parker?”

Peter opened his mouth to respond, even though he didn’t really know with what, when he heard MJ say softly, “Peter.”

He turned back to her and saw her shaking her head slightly. He sighed and slumped back in his chair, trying to ignore the  _ rage _ he currently felt toward Flash.

“You wanna get out of here?” he asked her instead.

“Yeah, I get it, Parker”, Flash said with a mocking grin. “This place is way too overpriced anyways. Money’s been a bit tight this last year, hasn’t it?”

A loud  _ bang _ echoed throughout the room as MJ slammed her glass down onto the table, making several heads turn. 

“How  _ dare _ you”, she said slowly through clenched teeth while giving Flash a deadly glare, making him squirm uncomfortably. 

She closed her eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath, before standing up quickly from her seat. “Let’s go, Peter.”

“Uh, the-the”, he stammered and stood up as well. “The water.”

MJ reached into her pocket and fished out two dollar bills, placing them on the table. She turned back around, but instead of heading for the exit, she placed her hands on Flash’s table and leaned over him.

“You know I’m team captain of the decathlon team. Don’t even think for a  _ second _ that I wouldn't kick you off.”

He nodded quietly.

“And if you  _ ever _ joke about that in front of Peter again, I promise you that decathlon will be the  _ least _ of your worries.”

She stood back up, grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him with her toward the exit.

They - or  _ she _ , rather - didn’t stop until they were a block away from the restaurant, and when they did MJ stood quietly in front of Peter with her back to him. When she didn’t talk or move for a few seconds he carefully reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. “MJ?”

She quickly spun around and wrapped her arms around Peter, pulling him into a tight hug. He only hesitated for a second before hugging her back, nestling his face in her hair.

“Are you okay?” she mumbled against his shoulder.

“Me? I-I’m, yeah, I’m fine. Are  _ you _ ?”

She pulled back and took a deep breath, exhaling slowly a moment later. “Yeah, I am. I just…  _ God _ , he’s such an asshole.”

He nodded and let out a huff. “Yeah, but that isn’t exactly news.” He furrowed his eyebrows slightly. “Why did you… I mean, yeah, he was an asshole, but why’d you get so upset?”

She reached up to rub a hand down her face, sighing. “I didn’t know he’d go that far. That’s just… that shit is not okay.” She looked back up at Peter with a frown. “He hasn’t said anything like that to you before, has he?”

He shook his head. “Never.”

She nodded. “Yeah, well… it’s still not okay. That’s just fucked up. You sure you’re okay?” 

“Yeah”, he said with a nod and a small smile. “I’m fine.”

“Good.”

A silent moment passed while they just held each other, but then MJ took a step back with an exhale and a small laugh. “Well, I guess our restaurant plans have been cancelled. Sorry.”

He laughed back. “It’s fine. We’ll just do it another time.

She nodded and then started looking around with an arched eyebrow. “Do you want to, maybe… just grab some McDonald’s and go home? I know it’s shit and really bad for you, but… I don’t care right now.”

His smile widened and he let out another laugh. “Yeah, that’s fine. As long as you still let me pay.”

She rolled her eyes as they started walking. “I don’t know, man, those waters were pretty expensive. I guess we can call it even.”

They laughed and then kept walking in silence before Peter spoke up, “Hey, MJ?”

“Hm?”

He waited until she turned to look at him and said, “Thank you.”

She rolled her eyes again, but when she looked away he could see the light tint of pink on her cheeks. “Anytime, dork.”

 

-

 

Tony exhaled deeply and wrapped his arms around May, who was laying against his chest. 

“You good?” he asked, his voice still a bit hoarse. 

She nodded and then placed her elbows on his chest to lift herself up, looking down at him with a smile. “And you?”

He smiled back and reached up to place a few strands of her behind her ear so that he could see her face more clearly. “Better than good.”

She hummed. “Great?”

“Even better.”

“Marvelous?”

He rolled his eyes, though his smile didn’t fade. “We could go on like this all night.”

She huffed and started tracing her finger along his chest, around his scar. “Well, that’s not really how I plan on spending it.”

He caught her hand before it could reach lower and brought it to his mouth, pressing a kiss to her palm. When he looked up at her again she had a fond expression on her face, while also biting her lip. 

“What time is it?”

She reached over to the nightstand and pressed the home button on her phone. “Six forty.”

He hummed as she lay back on top of him. “We probably have at least an hour before they come back.”

“What do you want to do until then?”

He tightening his grip around her waist. “What do you think?”

She hummed thoughtfully. “Board games?”

He huffed out a laugh before lifting his head and pressing his lips to hers. She kissed back, placing her hands on either side of his face. 

Suddenly the sound of the front door opening filled the room, as well as a loud, “May, Tony, we’re home!”

May rolled off of Tony so quickly she almost fell off the bed, but thankfully Tony managed to grab her arm. She stood up and started digging through the pile of clothes on the floor. 

“Can you get my stuff too?” Tony whispered, sitting up on the bed. 

She tossed him his sweats and then quickly put on her own. 

“May?” Peter called out once again, this time closer to their bedroom. 

“Yeah, I’m coming, honey!” May answered before turning back to Tony, lowering her voice. “Stay here and put on a movie on your tablet, make it look like we were watching it.”

He rolled his eyes slightly with a huff but nodded, grabbing the tablet from his bag. 

She opened the door and walked out, leaving it open so that Tony could peek out. 

“Hey, kids! Home so soon?”

“Yeah, uh…” Peter reached up to rub his neck. “The restaurant was pretty loud and crowded and stuff, and they barely had any vegetarian options, so we just decided to grab some McDonald’s and eat it at home.”

“Oh”, May said, furrowing her eyebrows. “That’s not good. Maybe we should call the restaurant and complain?”

“Oh, no no, that’s really not necessary”, Peter hurriedly said. “Uh, you, um, you know I’m extra sensitive to that stuff and… yeah, I guess it was just me. But don’t worry, we’ll be perfectly fine eating this at home.” He glanced over at MJ. “Maybe… maybe we could all watch a movie or something?”

MJ gave him a nod and a small smile, making him relax, and he looked back at May. 

“Sure!” she said, turning back toward the bedroom. “Tony and I were actually watching one, but we can watch something else with you guys.” 

Tony smiled and stood up, walking out to the living room to watch a movie with his family. 

 

-

 

“So?” Peter asked excitedly as he closed the bedroom door behind him. “What’d you think?”

MJ rolled her eyes and sighed, sitting down on the lower bunk of his bed. “I guess it wasn’t  _ complete _ shit.”

Peter’s smile grew and he sat down next to her. “Really?”

“You know, I almost broke up with for a second there when you first suggested we’d watch Star Wars.”

His smile didn’t falter. “But you liked it? At least kinda?”

She stared at him for a beat, but then let out a light laugh. “Alright, let’s just be happy with that I didn’t hate it, okay?”

He grabbed her hand from where it lay on the mattress between them, squeezing it lightly. “That’s enough for me. And don’t worry, by the time we’ve finished all the movies you’re going to love it.”

She raised an eyebrow at him and let out a huff. “It’s gonna take a lot of persuading to get me to even watch  _ one  _ more of those movies.”

“Well, what do you want?”

The corner of her lip curved upward in a half-smile. “Oh, I can think of a few things.”

She reached her free hand up to cup his cheek and leaned forward, pressing her lips against his. He kissed back and placed a hand on her waist. 

“I’ve been wanting to do this all day”, she sighed against his mouth, letting go of his hand to wrap her arms around his neck. 

“Actually”, he said, a bit breathless, pulling back slightly to look at her, “we did this in the bathroom before we went to Ned’s, so technically you can’t have-“

“Oh, shut up, you nerd”, she laughed and pulled him back for another kiss. 

A sudden knock on the door made them jump and quickly pull back. MJ cleared her throat and moved back to, as casually as possible, lean against the wall, but suddenly she was grabbed by the ankles, turned around, and her calves were placed in Peter’s lap. The quick and surprising motion made her hit the mattress, and she propped herself up on her elbows to glare at Peter, when she felt the reason he’d placed her legs there. 

“Oh”, she said, arching an eyebrow. A small smile appeared on her lips. “I guess we have a situation, huh?”

Peter felt his cheeks starting to burn and avoided MJ’s gaze as he called out, “Come in!”, and then lowered his voice to whisper, “Sorry”, right as the door opened. 

Tony poked his head in and smiled at the two of them. Peter saw in his peripheral vision MJ trying to make her odd position look casual, to no success. 

“Hey, kids”, Tony greeted, taking a step inside the room. “I just wanted to say goodbye before I leave for Tokyo.”

“You’re going to Japan again?” Peter asked, furrowing his eyebrows.

“Yeah, I have a meeting, which unfortunately had to be cancelled the last time I went there.” He arched an eyebrow toward Peter, but there was no heat or anger behind his words. Peter still felt a bit bad at the memory, though. 

“Okay, well, have fun or whatever”, MJ said, and Peter looked over to see her giving Tony what he guessed was supposed to be a smile. 

Tony let out a small laugh at the obviously forced gesture. “Thank you. I’m leaving in ten minutes, and May’s driving me to the airport, but she’ll be back soon after.”

They both nodded and said their goodbyes. 

“I’ll see you on Monday”, Tony said before shutting the door. 

Peter sighed and let go of MJ’s legs, leaning back against the wall. “Sorry”, he said again, feeling the blush increase. 

MJ crawled up next to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “What? You think I mind?”

He turned to her and gave her a small smile. “It’s still embarrassing.”

She smiled back and leaned in to kiss him. He returned it and put his hands back on her waist as her grip around his neck tightened. 

After a minute she withdrew her hands and reached down to grab the hem of his shirt, tugging at it. His breath hitched slightly, but he didn’t hesitate to pull back and give her room to unbutton and pull it off his body. 

She threw the garment on the floor and then took a moment to look up and down his body, running a hand down his chest. After a beat she lightly pressed her hand against him, and Peter took the hint, gulping once before leaning back and resting on his elbows. 

Throwing one leg over both of his, MJ straddled his lap and leaned down with her hands against his face to continue kissing him. Since his elbows were against the mattress he couldn’t reach up to touch her face as well, so he settled with placing them on her thighs. 

After another moment Peter felt MJ grab his hand from her leg and reach up to place it against her chest. He guessed that she just wanted the contact, and started gently running his fingers across her skin. 

“No, Peter”, she breathed, letting out a light laugh against his lips. She grabbed his hand again and brought it down to her shirt, placing his fingers above the top button. 

He opened his eyes and pulled back, looking at her incredulously. “You, uh, you sure?”

She smiled at him and nodded, biting her lip. Her nails dug slightly into the skin of his hand to show her enthusiasm. 

He took a deep breath and grabbed the button, but hesitated for a moment and withdrew his hand. She frowned and looked like she was about to argue, but stopped when Peter placed his hands against the mattress and pushed himself up. 

“I just, uh…” he said, sitting up straight and reached up to place his hands on the collar of her shirt. “I need both hands.”

She nodded and sat down in his lap, and he took a moment to just get his breathing under control before starting to unbutton her shirt. 

“It’s not a bomb, Peter”, she said after a beat, making him look up at her. “It’s not going to explode if you’re not careful enough.”

He took another deep breath and huffed out a laugh. “Sorry, I’m just…”

“Nervous?”

“Yeah.”

She placed her hands on top of his. “You don’t have to do this if you don’t feel ready.”

“No, no, it’s fine”, he said, smiling at her. “It’s just that… I-I guess I’m scared of doing something wrong.”

She smiled back and leaned in to press a small kiss against his lips. “Don’t worry, I’ve never done anything like this before either, so I won’t notice if you’re doing something wrong.”

He let out another laugh and felt a bit better from her words.

“Besides, there’s nothing right or wrong when it comes to this. You know I’ll tell you if I don’t want something, just like you will.”

He nodded. “Yeah.”

She ran a hand through his hair, still with a smile on her face. “So, you’re gonna continue?”

He looked down at his hands again. “Oh, yeah, right.”

He finished unbuttoning her shirt and she shrugged out of it, throwing it on the floor next to the one she’d taken off of him. 

“You can look, Peter”, she suddenly said, and he realized that he’d stared at her face ever since her shirt came off. He gulped and looked down, taking in the white lace bra, and something else…

“I usually don’t wear bras”, she said, running a hand down his chest. “But, well, I thought I’d make an exception today. Do you like it?”

Peter was only half listening as his thumb swiped across something just above the side of her collarbone…

“You still have your hickey”, he said, more to himself than her.

“Hm?” She looked down to where his hand was. “Oh yeah, I noticed that.” She reached up to swipe her fingers across his neck. “But you don’t.”

He let out a huff. “Yeah, I… it faded pretty quickly, probably because of, you know, my powers.”

She nodded, and then a silence fell over them, almost close to awkward tension. Peter knew it was because of the mention of his powers and, well, Spider-Man, and he also knew that they’d had a lack of conversation about that. Even though it was probably the worst timing possible, he had to bite the bullet sometime. 

“Hey, MJ?” he said, grabbing her hand from his neck and moving it down to her side, making her look up at him. “We… we haven’t talked much about that.”

She raised an eyebrow. “About what?”

“Spider-Man.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah, and I-I’m really sorry about that. It’s such a big part of my life and you should be much more involved in it.”

She nodded. “Yeah, well, I’m sorry too. You shouldn’t be the only one who has to start the conversation, and I sure as hell haven’t done it either.” She sighed. “I don’t know, I guess I’ve just felt like… there’s been something holding me back every time I’ve wanted to bring it up or ask you something about it.”

“Yeah, don’t worry, I definitely get that. And… I think what might’ve been holding us back is… my lack of a proper apology.”

She furrowed her eyebrows. “What?”

He sighed and looked her deep in the eyes. “I’m so, so sorry I didn’t tell you about Spider-Man when Ned knew.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed. “Peter…”

“No, this is really important.”

She closed her mouth and raised an eyebrow, but nodded. 

“I don’t want you to think that I didn’t tell you because I… didn’t care if you knew, or whatever. I wanted to tell you so badly, even before we were friends, because I thought that that would make us closer, as well as you and Ned. Every single person who knows about this found out on their own, I didn’t tell anyone because I’m scared that those who knows will become targets for people who are after me, and therefore I decided to not tell anyone.” He reached a hand up to cup her cheek. “And even though all of that is true, I’d be lying if I said that I’m not incredibly happy that you know now, so that you can be involved in every part of my life.”

MJ stared silently at him for a moment before her lips curved in a half-smile. “That’s so sappy I could probably punch you in the face right now.”

Peter let out a loud laugh and leaned in to give her a quick kiss. “I’m sorry, but it had to be said.”

“Yeah, I know. And… thank you. It does feel better now.”

His smile grew and he pulled her in for another kiss. 

“So… is there something you want to know? Something you’re wondering about?”

“Oh, there’s tons, but for later.” She smiled when his eyebrows furrowed. “Well, your speech didn’t kill the mood.”

She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing him, which he happily returned. 

But there was still something there, something more Peter felt he had to say, and he soon realized what it was.

Right as MJ was about to push him down against the mattress again he grabbed her hand and pulled back with a sigh.

“There’s, um… there’s one more thing.”

She sighed and leaned back, but gave him a smile. “What? You have a second superhero persona? You’re actually Iron Man too?”

He let out a small laugh, shaking his head. “No, this… this is about the thing I told you a few days ago.”

She furrowed her eyebrows, but then realization dawned on her face and she let out a low, “Oh.”

“Yeah, um…” He reached a hand up to rub his neck, letting out a huff. “I don’t really know where to start. Uh…” He took a deep breath and looked up at her. “Just know that I mean it. I-I do love you. And I know it might be a bit early and stuff, but I do. But it wasn’t fair of me to just say it like that, out of the blue, especially since… I know that you have a hard time with feelings and stuff.”

She shrugged, letting out a huff. “I said it back, didn’t I?”

“You did, but don’t feel like you have to say it just because I do, okay?”

She looked at him for a beat before nodding. “Okay.”

He tilted his head slightly and have her a small smile. “I could wait forever for you to say it, so don’t feel rushed.”

She let out a laugh and pushed him against his chest. “Okay, I’m  _ this _ close to punching you right now.”

He laughed back. “Okay, I’m sorry, I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.”

It was like a weight had been lifted off of Peter’s shoulders, and looking at MJ it seemed like she felt the same. 

“So…”, he said, running a hand up her arm. “What do you want to do now?”

“Well, you’ve finally successfully killed the mood, so I suggest we watch a movie or something.”

Peter sighed but couldn’t hold back a smile as MJ hopped out of bed and grabbed a big sweater from her bag, putting it on.

“Hey, can we watch-”

“If you say Star Wars I  _ swear to God _ I’ll walk out of this apartment right now.”

Peter laughed and grabbed her waist, pulling her in for another kiss. She couldn’t hold back a small laugh of her own against his lips and wrapped her arms around his neck, happily returning the kiss.

They finally got around to watching a movie, one of MJ’s choice, and when it was over they just managed to get ready for bed before falling asleep mere moments after they hit the mattress, both exhausted from the long day. The last thing Peter remembered thinking as he held MJ in his arms was how incredibly, overwhelmingly lucky he was.

 

-

 

MJ woke up to a well lit room, and it took her a moment to remember where she was. She stretched out her arms and legs with a smile on her face before rolling around, and was met by Peter’s back.

“Wake up, sleeping beauty”, she said teasingly, poking his shoulder blade. 

He didn’t move.

She let out a huff and grabbed his shoulder, shaking it lightly. “Come on, wake up. I’m hungry.”

He still didn’t move.

With a sigh she reached around and pressed her hand against his chest to roll him toward her. 

“Peter, you have to-”

Her sentence was cut off as his back hit the mattress and she could properly look at him.

His face was blue and chest completely still. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well... I told you guys the angst was coming.


	33. Decisions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here! I'm so sorry that it took so long to get this chapter up, especially after that awful cliffhanger, but I got sick twice after posting that chapter and had to work pretty hard to catch up on school work, but now it's here! And I really hope you'll enjoy!

Tony’s heart pounded in his ears as he ran through the hospital halls. It felt as though a hole was burning through his chest with the way his phone was ringing in his pocket, though he hadn’t been able to answer or even acknowledge it since he’d been completely focused on only one thing the past couple of hours. 

“Peter Parker”, he choked out as soon as he reached a desk.

The dark haired woman from behind it looked up and frowned behind her narrow glasses. “Pardon?”

“Where’s Peter Parker?” Tony said, a bit louder this time, growing more frustrated and anxious each second he was away from the boy.

“Oh”. The woman looked a bit sceptical, but started typing into her computer. “Are you family?”

Tony hesitated for a beat before answering, “Yes.”

She looked up at him with an arched eyebrow, pausing the movements of her hands. “In what way are you related?”

He took a deep breath, trying to act casual. “I’m his dad. May Parker, my wife, is with him right now.”

She hummed, seemingly satisfied with his answer, and tapped on the keyboard a few more times before looking up again. “He’s in room 4C, second floor to the right.”

He nodded and was already moving toward the elevator. “Thank you”, he called out quickly before turning around and practically spriting the rest of the way.

When he finally reached the door he stopped for a moment, hesitating. Was he really supposed to be here? Sure, May had called and asked for him, but maybe that was just the desperation coming out in her state of panic. And the rule of only family being allowed to visit was there for a reason, and… he wasn’t family, was he?

He clenched his fists and squeezed his eyes shut, letting out a deep breath. He didn’t want to step on their toes. He’d call May and ask her to tell him when things got better, and he’d come visit if they both wanted it, maybe-

His thoughts were cut off by the door suddenly opening, and he snapped his head up to see May in front of him. Her eyes were red-rimmed and the exhaustion evident on her face, but she lit up distinctly the moment she saw him.

“Tony!” she gasped, and a moment later she had her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. “You-you’re here”, she mumbled into his shirt, her voice rough from crying.

He wrapped his arms around her waist and buried his face in her hair. “Of course”, he mumbled back, and was relieved by how much he meant it. 

Of course he was supposed to be here.

After a beat she pulled back from him, sniffling slightly, and grabbed his hand. He wordlessly followed her into the room, closing the door behind him. He lingered there slightly before taking a deep breath and turning around.

Nothing could’ve prepared him for the sight before him.

Peter was laying in the hospital bed, an oxygen mask strapped over his face and with wires placed all over his chest. He had an IV on his left hand, with a tube that led to a bag filled with some whitish, sluggish liquid. 

“Is he…” he started, his voice weak.

“They say he’s just unconscious and will probably wake up pretty soon, but…” She sighed. “It’s been a few hours.”

Tony took a step closer and gasped when he saw how pale he was, with dark circles beneath his eyes.

He quickly closed the distance between them with a few more steps and sat down in the chair closest to the bed. Without much thought or hesitation, he carefully grabbed Peter’s right hand with both of his, resting his elbows on the mattress. A moment later he felt May place a hand on his shoulder, and he tilted his head to the side to lean against her arm.

“Do they know what’s wrong with him?” he asked after a minute of silence, not taking his eyes off the boy.

May sighed. “They’re not too sure, since I did what you said and didn’t let them bring in a specialist, but…” She took a deep breath. “They think it’s a disorder called ‘sleep apnea’.”

His grip on Peter’s hand tightened. “A disorder? So it- it’s not just a one time thing? This might happen again?” He took May’s silence as a  _ yes _ and squeezed his eyes shut with a long exhale, leaning forward to place his forehead against his hands with Peter’s in them. “And what does having apnea mean?”

“It means that something is interrupting your breathing while sleeping, either blockage of the airway or the brain failing to send signals.”

“Do they know which one it is?”

“No.”

Silence fell once again while Tony processed what he’d just learn, and he felt something awful grow in his gut when he realised that there’d been signs before, right in front of him. When Peter woke up crying and said that he couldn’t breath, when he stopped breathing after falling from the ceiling while training. It was all right in front of his eyes, still he never thought for even a second that he maybe should look more into it. What if this was all his fault? 

He then heard May take a shuddering breath, and when he turned his head to her it looked like she was fighting to hold back tears.

“They… the doctors, they said that most people wouldn’t have survived the lack of oxygen in his brain, and that if we’d called for help just a few minutes later he… he wouldn’t have made it.” She took another deep breath and her voice wavered slightly when she spoke again. “What- what if Michelle hadn’t been there? What if I had been the one to find him hours later, when… when it’d be too late to-”

She cut herself of when a sob escaped her, and Tony was quick to pull her toward him, settling her in his lap and wrapping his arms around her while mumbling low, comforting words. 

“It’s okay, honey, he’s okay”, he whispered into her hair as she cried, and let out a low sigh. “We’re okay.”

 

.

 

The first thing Peter became aware of was floating, and the second thing was darkness. He let himself drift in the nothingness while trying to find himself in there, without much success. Besides his mind, there wasn’t much else of his body he could control, or even feel.

But eventually everything became more clear. His senses were beginning to work again, especially his hearing, and he became aware of the low sound of voices around him, though he couldn’t quite make out what they were saying or who they belonged to.

And then feeling finally returned, but when it did he wished it hadn’t, because it only brought pain. He hurted everywhere, especially in his head and chest. He still didn’t have any control over his body and couldn’t move it, just feel the pain.

He was slightly distracted from the pain though when the voices became more clear, and he could make out that they belonged to Tony and May. He felt distinct relief for a moment from knowing that they were with him, but then he started hearing what they were talking about. Had he been hurt? Were they at the hospital? He strained his ears to try and understand more of their conversation, but it went quiet just then.

“We can't stay here, May.” Tony's soft voice broke the silence, and May exhaled deeply, as if she'd been holding her breath. “We’re lucky they haven’t found anything out of the ordinary in his blood yet, but if they bring in some kind of specialist… which they probably will, since they haven’t found the root of the problem yet.”

“I know, I just…” Peter felt a small pressure on his hand through the haze of darkness.

“What is it?”

“I... I don't know where I would go. Where I would take him.” Peter felt another light pressure on his cheek. “I don't think I can bring him back home.”

“Why not?” Tony's voice was quiet, as if he was afraid that something would break if he spoke louder. 

May took a shuddering breath and the pressure Peter had felt disappeared. Instead, he heard the rustling sound of fabric against fabric, and when May spoke again her voice sounded muffled. “I can't do this alone. What happened today… it's a miracle I didn't have a breakdown. I don't think I can go through that again. And yes, Michelle was there, but she won’t always be. When Ben was here-”

She stopped abruptly, and Peter guessed that she was waiting for Tony's reaction. The man hummed encouragingly. 

“When Ben was here, at least we were two. We helped each other. When Peter got hurt, or had a nightmare, we could both take care of him and share our worry. Now... I don't just get overwhelmed, I feel so weak and useless, which just breaks me down even more. I'm not enough for Peter.”

“Oh, love, you are.” Tony's voice sounded muffled as well, and he heard the sound of fabric again. “You do so much for him, and I know that he appreciates it very much. He loves you.” May sniffled slightly. “But I understand how you feel, and I wouldn't want you to be alone in this either. I… I'll keep helping the two of you as much as I can.”

Silence washed over the room for a minute. All Peter could hear was May and Tony's slow breathing and the beeping of some machine next to him. There was something unspoken lingering in the air, as if no one knew how to approach it. Finally May cleared her throat.

“But... I feel like you can't help as much as we’d both like to from the position you're in right now.”

Another beat of silence. 

“And what position is that?” Tony asked, encouraging her to continue. 

“Too far away from us”, May whispered. 

“You mean...?” Tony spoke, voice surprised. 

“Is that okay with you? I know we agreed to wait a while, and talk it through with Peter, but after what's happened…” May trailed off, sounding more hesitant. 

“Yes”, Tony finally said. “I'd like that.”

“Really?” Peter could tell from her tone of voice that her eyes were probably glistening with excitement. 

“Of course. I… I’ve actually thought about this for a while, but I was honestly a bit scared to bring it up. I guess I was afraid that you wouldn't actually want to, but say yes just because you felt like you had to.”

Peter could hear the smile in her voice. “Well, I really do want this. And it's not just because of Peter, I really want us closer together. All three of us.”

Tony hesitated for a second before answering. “Are you really sure that that's what Peter wants though? I know he's said that he has no problem with us, with  _ me _ , but us moving in together makes it so different. Right now I'm just his aunt's boyfriend, but if we go through with this it’ll affect mine and his relationship as well. I'm just not sure he wants that.”

“Oh, Tony”, May sighed and breathed a laugh with just a small hint of humor. “He's never seen you as just my boyfriend. He adores and cares about you so much. And even though he's never admitted it, maybe not even to himself, I'm pretty much one hundred percent sure that he's enjoying having someone to look up to and learn from. Someone he knows is there for him and that he can trust. Someone who's a…”, May trailed off, hesitant, as if worried about Tony's reaction to her words. 

“A what?” Tony breathed. Unlike Peter, he sounded like he knew where May was going, but still needed to hear her say it. 

“A father figure.” She said it with the most sincere voice Peter had ever heard. And when she'd said it, it was like something clicked in his head. A father figure. He realized that that was exactly how he’d seen Tony lately. Finally those odd feelings of comfort and safety he'd felt whenever he was around the man made sense. 

Perhaps he'd been scared of admitting it to himself because he was certain that the man had no interest in taking that roll in Peter's life, but hearing him express the same concern but on the other end made him doubtful. Maybe Tony wanted to be something more to Peter? 

Maybe not a... an actual  _ dad _ , but still something more than just a mentor. 

“You really think so?” Tony said, and Peter worried about how hesitant he sounded. 

“Absolutely”, May said, still without a hint of doubt. “And I know he was asleep, but I really think it meant something when he called us mom and dad those times.”

Peter felt a flash of embarrassment run through him. Had he said that out loud?

Tony sighed loudly and went silent for a moment.

“It scares me how much I want that.”

A warm feeling spread across Peter's chest, somehow finding its way through the darkness. If he could find his face he'd probably be smiling so hard his cheeks ached. 

“It scares you?” May laughed, and it sounded a lot more happier this time. 

“I've just never wanted this before. To be a part of a kids life in this way.” A beat of silence. Once again Peter felt pressure on his hand, but it was different this time. From another hand. “Is... is it okay with you that I-”

“Of course”, May said instantly. “I love that the two of you feel that way about each other.”

“I just don't want you to feel like I'm trying to replace Ben or something”, Tony admitted quietly. 

“There's a difference between replacing a person and replacing their role”, May said confidentially. She then sighed, and her voice was quieter when she spoke again. “We will never forget or get over him. He has left a hollowness in both of us, which you will never be able to fill. But you can still be a part of our lives, and we've both become so much happier since you came along.”

Peter felt the pressure increase, and he heard the small sound of lips against skin. “That's all that matters to me now”, Tony mumbled and May sighed happily. 

“Thank you”, she whispered. 

“You stole my line”, Tony said with his usual humor when things got a bit too emotional and May breathed a laugh.

It went silent then, but it was different from the other times. This time it wasn't because no one knew what to say, but because everything had been said. 

After a few minutes Peter had regained all feeling in his body, but he didn't want to fully wake up yet. Both because he was still exhausted and wanted to sleep a little more, and he also felt like he had to process the conversation between his aunt and Tony before having to face them. He welcomed the darkness and sank into a deep sleep. He had the same dream as when when he'd first found out about their relationship; the three of them as a family. Only this time he allowed himself to actually hope that perhaps his dream would come true. 

 

-

 

Despite the whole situation having left May a bit shaken, one thing about her that definitely didn’t falter was her stubbornness. 

“It’s okay, honey”, Tony sighed, standing up from his chair and letting go of Peter’s hand to place both of his on her shoulders. “Go shower, brush your teeth, hell, use the bathroom. I can look after him for half an hour.”

She gave him a hard, stubborn look, but her gaze soon softened and she looked down at Peter with a sigh. “Promise me you’ll call immediately if something happens, okay?”

He huffed and his lips curled in a small smile. “You’ll be gone for thirty minutes tops and, like, two rooms away.”

She glared at him. “ _ Promise _ ?”

He sighed and gave her shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Promise.”

She gave Peter one last look before nodding once and grabbing her backpack, which Happy had come by to drop off an hour ago. 

“I’ll be back soon”, she said before closing the door. 

Tony sank back down in his chair, grabbing Peter’s hand. Even though the boy hadn’t woken up yet, his breathing had steadied and his fingers had twitched once in Tony’s grasp, which at least was some progress.

His phone started ringing then, making him jump slightly. He picked it up from the table next to the bed and let out a sigh when he looked at the display. 

“Hey, Michelle”, he answered as he put the device to his ear. 

“How is he?” she immediately asked, and he let out a huff at her lack of a greeting, even though he definitely understood. 

“He’s breathing better and moving a tiny bit, but apart from that…” he trailed off. 

He heard her sigh deeply. “Well, at least it’s going in the right direction”, she said, not sounding very convinced herself. 

“Yeah, and that’s really all we can ask for”, Tony answered, looking down at the still way too pale boy. 

She hummed. “Well, keep me updated.”

“I will.” He hesitated for a second before clearing his throat. “I… I’m sorry you can’t be here.”

There was a beat of silence before she answered, “Yeah, I am too. Thanks.” Another small paus. “Just call, okay?”

Tony nodded, even though he knew she couldn’t see it. “Promise.”

They hung up, and Tony went back to focusing on Peter, trying to get some blood flow into his very pale hands and sometimes talking to him, hoping that he might hear and find his way back. 

A few minutes later the door opened and May walked in again, with dry hair and the same clothes on. 

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. “You didn’t shower?”

She looked up at him, and when he saw the raw shock in her wide and slightly red eyes he quickly stood up from his chair and walked over to her.

“May?” he said, placing his hands on her arms. “Hey, talk to me. What’s wrong?”

She took a deep, shuddering breath and her lips quivered slightly before answering, “My uncle called.”

“The one in California?”

She nodded.

“And?”

Another deep breath. “My aunt just passed away.”

Tony was speechless for a moment, just staring at May in shock, before wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into a tight hug. “May, I-I’m so sorry.”

She exhaled against his shoulder and hugged him back. “I-I still don’t think I’ve really processed it. I can’t believe she’s really-” She stopped short when a sniffle escaped her, and Tony just pulled her in closer, hushing lowly. 

Eventually she pulled back, but Tony kept his arms around her waist. “He wants me to help him arrange the funeral. I want to, but…” She looked over to where Peter lay in his bed, and sighed. “I shouldn’t. I can’t.”

“Hey.” Tony placed a hand against her cheek, making her look back at him. “Of course you’re going. I’ll look after him.”

She frowned. “Tony, I’d be away for a couple of days.”

He shrugged. “We’re moving to the tower anyways, aren’t we? I can take care of him until you get back.”

His words seemed to make her relax a bit, though she still didn’t look completely convinced. “Well, what if- what if something else happens to him? As his only guardian I have to be here if there’s something medical related, maybe they find some kind of cure while I’m not here, and…” she trailed off, sighing as she looked over at Peter again.

Tony opened his mouth, closed it, then took a breath before saying, “What if you weren’t his only guardian?”

She looked back at him, her eyebrows furrowing slightly. “What?”

“Just hypothetical.”

“What are- what do you mean?”

He let out a sigh, hesitating for a moment before reaching down to grab her hand in his. “What if someone else became his legal guardian?”

It took a second, but then her eyes widened and she gasped slightly. “Do you mean…?”

He couldn’t help a small smile. “Is that okay with you?”

She nodded, letting out a short, surprised laugh. “Of course.”

“And Peter…”

“Will be thrilled.”

He felt his smile falter a bit. “Are you sure? I mean, I don’t know if-”

“Tony.” May reached her hands up to place them against his chest. “We talked about this before. I see the way he lights up every time he’s with you, how happy he is, and comfortable…” Her lips curved in a small smile. “How he’s already called you “dad” multiple times.”

He sighed, but still felt a small bit of hope at her words. “I- I don’t know.”

“Well, I do. And if Peter, for some nonexistent reason, doesn’t want this, then we just won’t go through with it. But I know he will.”

Tony’s smile found its way back onto his lips, until he remembered another dilemma. “What about… my problems?”

“What problems?”

He sighed. “You know… my past and all that stuff.”

“And that’s exactly what it is. Your  _ past _ .” She grabbed his face between her hands. “Tony, all of that is behind you. I’ve seen you change and overcome your problems, right before my very eyes. You’ve been nothing but amazing with and around Peter, and I have no doubts that you will continue to be.”

Tony almost had to blink back tears from her powerful words, and he reached up to cup her cheek. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“So, if Peter agrees to this-”

“Which he will.”

He smiled slightly. “Then we’ll go through with this?”

May nodded with a smile of her own. “You’ll become Peter’s parent.”

There was little he could do to stop himself from leaning forward and kiss her.

 

-

 

After being on the phone with her uncle a second time to plan her trip, May finally went to take a shower. Tony sat down in his now usual seat next to Peter’s bed and grabbed his phone to get in touch with his lawyer.

A couple of minutes later, he heard a low grunt and a weak, muffled, “Tony?”

He immediately snapped his head up, and almost dropped his phone when he was met by Peter’s slightly confused eyes.

“Peter”, he said, trying to stay calm as he reached his hands out to run one through his hair and use the other to pull down the oxygen mask. He was having a hard time keeping his breathing even with how euphoric he felt that Peter was finally awake. “Hey, kiddo. How are you feeling?”

Peter blinked once, slowly, and looked around the room before furrowing his eyebrows. “Dizzy.”

“Yeah, well, that’s usually what happens when you’ve had some lack of oxygen in your body.”

His eyes widened. “Oh.”

Tony nodded. “But you’re fine now, kid. Don’t worry.” He brushed the hair from his forehead. 

“Okay”, Peter mumbled, blinking heavily. “Where’s, uh, where’s May?”

“She’s just taking a shower.”

Peter hummed and closed his eyes.

Tony grabbed his phone from his lap and dialed May’s number, but it just kept ringing until it went to voicemail. Se must’ve still been in the shower, then.

He looked down at Peter and sighed. He obviously wanted him to get the rest he needed, but he felt like he really had to talk to him about this as soon as possible, and if he waited until May got back he’d probably fall into a pretty deep sleep again. 

“Hey, Peter, quickly before you fall asleep, just…”

Peter opened his eyes and looked up at him curiously. “Yeah?”

He hesitated for a beat, unsure of where to begin. “Your aunt’s going away for a few days.”

Peter frowned. “Why? Is she okay?”

“Yeah, she’s fine, it’s just something with family, but she’ll be back within a few days.”

Peter looked like he wanted to argue, ask more question, but was apparently too drained and just nodded. 

“So I’ll be taking care of you then. And… that’s another thing I wanted to talk to you about.” He waited a second to make sure he still had Peter’s attention. “Your aunt and I have been talking about the two of you moving to the tower.”

Peter’s eyes widened and he suddenly looked a bit more awake. “Really?”

“Only if that’s something you’re alright with, of course.”

He nodded. “Yeah, yeah, definitely. That’s- wow, that’s, yeah.”

Tony felt a smile tug at his lips at Peter’s enthusiasm, but he reminded himself that there was still one more thing to discuss. 

“And since I’m going to be taking care of you for a few days alone at the tower, there’s… there’s something that could make the whole situation a bit easier. Well, actually, it’s something a bit more permanent than that.”

“Uh, okay. What is this?”

Tony needed a moment to take a deep breath and grab Peter’s hand. 

“How do you feel about me becoming your legal guardian?”

If Tony thought Peter’s eyes had gotten wide before, it was nothing compared to this.

Silence fell over the room, and Tony was starting to think that he’d made a mistake, when Peter finally said, “So you’ll be my real dad then?”

A warmth spread across Tony’s chest and his cheeks ached with a smile as he reached over to run his hand through the boy’s hair. Deep down he knew that it took a lot more than just his signature to make him worthy of that title, but he still couldn’t stop himself from saying, “I’ll be your real dad.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He finally said it! Well, while he wasn't sleeping, at least.  
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'll see ya next time!


	34. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry this chapter took so long, I've been really busy with my new job, but I'm back on track now and will hopefully post at least once every second week :)

Tony walked back into the hospital room with a breakfast tray in his hands, and was immediately met by a pair of big, slightly unfocused brown eyes. He quickly sat the tray down on the small table next to the bed and reached over to run a hand through the boy’s hair.

“Hey, kiddo”, he said quietly. “Did you sleep well?”

Peter nodded and blinked slowly, his chest heaving with a deep breath.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine”, Peter answered, a bit too fast for Tony to believe him. He also didn’t miss how weak his voice sounded.

May sighed, stroking her thumb across the back of Peter’s hand. “He’s still a bit dizzy.” She looked up at Tony. “We were actually just talking about everything that’s going to happen now.”

“Oh.” Tony nodded, sitting down in the chair next to May. Peter had fallen asleep before May got back after her shower the day before, and he was glad that they got to talk before they went through with everything. “That’s good.”

She nodded and returned her focus to Peter. “I’m sorry that this is all happening so quickly and at a bad time, but since I’m going away for a couple of days and you’re going to need medical care outside of the hospital we figured we might as well do it now.”

Peter nodded, and somehow managed to make his head look heavy. “Yeah, I understand, it’s fine. I, uh-“ He took a deep breath, closing his eyes momentarily. “I actually look forward to it.”

May gave him a small smile. “That’s good to hear. I just want you to be prepared for a pretty big change, but nothing is set in stone yet. We can try living at the tower for a few weeks, and if you don’t like it we can move back into the apartment. We’ll keep it until we know for sure what we want to do.”

Peter returned the smile and gave her hand a small squeeze. “Yeah, that sounds good.”

She reached a hand out to brush the curls from his forehead. “We’ll also make sure we won’t draw too much attention. We’ll drive all the way into the garage so that we won’t be seen walking into the building, your principal will have to sign a non-disclosure agreement about Tony becoming your legal guardian-“

“May”, Peter interrupted, letting out a sigh, though still with a smile on his lips. “It’s fine. Don’t overthink it.”

Tony placed a hand on Peter’s knee. “Your aunt’s just worried about you, Peter. This _is_ a pretty big change.”

“Yeah, I know, I just-“ He looked up at Tony and gave him a weak smile. “I’m sure it’ll all be great.”

Tony returned the smile and gave his knee a small squeeze.

“Well, before we do anything you need to get some food into your system.” May reached over to the tray and started gathering some food to put on the movable tray in front of Peter’s bed.

“Can I just, uh, call MJ quickly?”

May hesitated and looked over at Peter. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? You really need to rest right now.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “Yeah, but she-” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, and when he looked up again it took him a moment to find May’s gaze. “She’s probably worried.”

“I’ve spoken to her, Peter”, Tony said. “I called her while getting breakfast, she’s updated.”

Peter looked over at him and nodded, biting his lip. “Okay, but… I really want to talk to her”, he mumbled.

“And I get that, but, kid, you can barely make it through a whole sentence without having to take a break.”

Peter glared at him, which only came off as staring. “That’s not true.”

Tony’s lips curved in a small smile. “Oh, really? Why don’t you tell me a story, then?”

“Tony”, May said with a warning in her voice, and he turned to see her giving him a serious look. “Don’t push him.”

Tony let out a sigh and nodded toward the food in front of Peter. “Eat that, take a nap, and then you can give her a quick call.”

The way Peter’s face lit up made it impossible for Tony not to smile.

His smile, however, quickly faded and was replaced by a tightness in his chest at the sight of Peter being so weak that he could barely lift the water cup.

“There you go, honey”, May said as she helped Peter pick up the cup and bring it to his lips, and Tony didn’t miss the way her voice trembled slightly.

After getting some water and half a sandwich into Peter the door opened, and a nurse who looked to be in his mid-30s with a buzz cut walked in.

“Good morning, Peter”, he said with a smile, looking over at the boy. “I’m Mr Green. I’m sorry to interrupt you during breakfast, but I’m just here for a quick check up. Is that okay?”

Peter nodded, and Tony and May stood up to give the man some space. Tony noticed him sneaking a few glances, but remained silent about his presence.

“So, Peter, how are you feeling?” he asked and looked over the monitors next to the bed.

“I’m fine”, Peter answered instantly.

Mr Green hummed. “You don’t feel dizzy at all?”

Peter hesitated for a moment before answering, “A little bit.”

He leaned down and shone a small flashlight into Peter’s eyes. “Can you tell me the last thing you remember before waking up at the hospital?”

Peter blinked when he lowered the flashlight and took a deep breath, looking around the room for a beat. “Well, my… uh, my girlfriend and I were…” A blush then spread across his cheeks, and _boy_ was Tony going to tease him about that. “We were watching a movie, _Get out_ , and then-” He paused to take another deep breath. “And then we went to bed.”

“His girlfriend told us the same story”, Tony said.

Mr Green nodded. “Good, it seems his memory hasn’t been affected then.” He straightened and gave Peter a smile. “But I suggest you get some more rest.” He turned to Tony and May. “I’ll go talk to the doctor, she should be here soon.”

“Thank you”, May said as Tony nodded.

Twenty minutes later, while Peter was fast asleep, the doctor walked in.

“Hello”, the blonde woman said with a smile, keeping her voice low. “I’m Dr Moore. I’m here to speak with you about how we’re going to proceed with Peter’s treatment.” She glanced over at Peter. “And I guess we should take it outside.”

Tony stood up and then looked over at May. “Should I, or do you…?”

“No, you can go and I’ll stay here with him.”

He nodded and walked over to the doctor, who held the door open for him.

“Mr Stark”, the doctor said when they were in the hallway, reaching a hand out.

“Dr Moore”, Tony said, accepting her hand.

“And you’re Peter’s parent?” She tried to sound professional, but couldn’t help arching an eyebrow.

Tony nodded, but then hesitated for a beat. “Soon to be.” A rumor about Tony Stark having reunited with his long lost biological son was the last thing he needed right now.

The doctor nodded and started looking through the papers in her hands. “Well, we’ve diagnosed him with sleep apnea, but we need to perform a polysomnography to decide what kind.” She looked up at him. “Ms Parker refused to let us perform it yesterday, but perhaps she’s changed her mind?”

“No, actually”, Tony said, letting out a long exhale. “We’ve decided to discharge him and continue with his treatment privately.”

Slight shock appeared across her face, and she looked at Tony with wide eyes. “Are- are you sure? Peter’s not really in condition to be moved right now.”

Tony clenched his fists and glanced over at the door to their room. “Yeah, I’m aware, but that’s our decision.” Her left no room in his voice for argument. Well, him being Tony Stark might’ve also helped.

It took her a moment to collect herself, and then she was scribbling something down on the papers. “Well, uh, I suggest you let him sleep with an oxygen mask on, and if he ever stops breathing a rub against the sternum should help. If not, call us.”

Tony nodded, even though he wouldn’t. “Thank you.”

She reached out to shake his hand again. “Good luck.”

 

-

 

A few hours later, after Peter had called MJ, been discharged, and was currently trying to tie his own shoes without running out of breath, Happy walked into the room with a wheelchair. Peter froze for a moment at the sight, and then looked between Tony and May incredulously.

“Don’t waste your time, kid”, Tony said, nodding toward the wheelchair. “Get in.”

Peter frowned and let out a groan. “Seriously? I’m perfectly fine walking on my own, I feel much better now!”

“Yeah, not happening.” Tony grabbed Peter’s upper arm to steady him as he stood up on wobbly legs and led him toward Happy. The man didn’t look much happier about having to push the kid around.

They eventually made it out of the hospital, with Peter hiding his face in his hands in embarrassment, but the exhaustion that was clear in both his breathing and the way his body slumped in the wheelchair made Tony sure of his decision.

After arriving at the tower they let Happy go and then went straight to the med bay where Bruce was waiting on them with a bunch of equipment next to a bed. Peter’s eyes widened.

“Wait, you’re not putting me in bed again, are you?” he said as Tony pushed him into the room, looking up at the man with eyes full of concern.

“Don’t worry sweetie”, May said and ran a hand through his hair. “Bruce is just going to find out what the cause of this is, remember?”

“You’ll be asleep the whole time”, Tony said as he stopped the wheelchair in front of the bed. “It’ll be just like a nap.”

“And it won’t take longer than an hour”, Bruce added with a smile from where he stood on the other side of the bed.

Peter did look a bit more relaxed, and also very tired. “So it… it’ll be done when I wake up?”

“All done.” Tony placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, and then looked over at May. “Do you have to…?”

She sighed and nodded. “The train leaves soon, and I have to stop by the apartment to pick some stuff up.”

Peter looked up at her. “You’re leaving now?”

She crouched down in front of him and ran her hand through his hair again. “I’m really sorry, honey. I wish I could stay, but…” she trailed off.

Peter looked like he wanted to argue, ask her to stay, but just bit his lip and nodded.

“It’ll just be a couple of days”, she said in an attempt to reassure him. “Tony will take care of you, and I’m only a phone call away, okay?”

Her voice sounded positive, but Tony knew how hard it was for her to leave her nephew so shortly after what had happened. God, he couldn’t even imagine himself having to leave Peter now, and he wasn’t even his parent.

Well, at least not yet.

Peter leaned forward and wrapped his arms around May’s neck. She hugged him back, but was noticeable careful, probably to not put too much pressure against his chest.

She then slowly stood up while still holding him and led him toward the bed, and he sat down against the mattress. When she let go of him and leaned back he rolled his eyes at her.

“I’m not a baby, May, I can walk two feet on my own.”

She placed her hand against his cheek and gave him a small smile. “You’ll always be my little baby.”

He rolled his eyes again, but couldn’t help a small smile himself, and she leaned in to place a kiss on his forehead.

“Get better now, alright? I want to see you up and running when I come back.”

“I promise.”

After giving Tony a quick kiss, and Bruce a meaningful look, May was out of the tower, and they started the polysomnography. Seeing Peter hooked up to beeping machines and with an oxygen mask over his face made Tony as anxious as it had made him in the hospital, so he left the room to call his lawyer about the guardianship papers. The thought of him becoming Peter’s legal guardian always made something flutter within him, but whether it was excitement or nerves he didn’t know. Probably both.

A knock on the door startled him, and Bruce poked his head inside to tell him that he was done, but Peter was still asleep. Tony followed him into the room and sat down in the chair next to Peter’s bed to wait for him to wake up.

He eventually did, and Tony could see the confusion on his face as he looked around the room, trying to find out where he was.

Tony carefully removed the oxygen mask and placed a hand in his hair. “Hey, hey, kid, it’s me. You’re home.”

Peter looked up at Tony, and he relaxed visibly as he found his gaze. “Dad”, he sighed.

The fluttering feeling was back, and this time Tony knew what it was.

After talking to Bruce for a few minutes, who said that he was going to go through the results and try to come up with some medication for Peter, Tony brought the kid up to his- well, _their_ personal suite.

“Let’s just take it easy tonight, alright?” Tony said as he sat Peter down on the couch, who was already starting to look tired. “Pick any movie you want and we’ll watch it.”

Peter gave him a weak smile and reached for the remote to scroll through the movie selection.

Tony stayed next to the couch, studying Peter. “I should probably feed you, right?” he muttered under his breath, glancing toward the kitchen. It wasn’t too far away, and he could see the couch from it, but he still felt anxious about leaving Peter alone in the living room. What if he fell asleep and stopped breathing without Tony noticing? But still, he really needed to eat something.

He sighed. God, this was going to be hard if he couldn’t even leave Peter’s side for two minutes.

“Hey, kid? I’m just going to the kitchen for a minute to make you a snack.”

Peter looked up at him with furrowed eyebrows. “I’m not hungry”, he whined, sounding very much like a child.

Tony huffed. “Well, it wasn’t a question. You’ve barely eaten anything today, you need some food in your system or else you’re not going to get any better.”

Peter sighed, but didn’t argue further.

After Tony had made a sandwich with his limited cooking skills and gotten Peter to eat almost all of it, the two of them settled in on the couch to watch the movie Peter had picked, and then started watching another one when it ended.

Sometime during one of the movies, Peter had started gradually leaning toward Tony until his head rested against his shoulder, and without really thinking about it Tony wrapped his arm around the kid’s shoulders. He felt Peter relax from the gesture, and couldn’t help leaning his own head against Peter’s.

When the second movie was coming to an end Tony felt Peter becoming heavier, and then he was slowly sliding down his chest.

“Oh no”, Tony said, grabbing and pulling him upright. “You’re not falling asleep here. You need your oxygen mask.”

Peter’s eyes blinked open, but he could barely sit straight and the exhaustion was evident on his face.

“Peter, do you want to go to bed?”

He closed his eyes again and hummed, nodding slowly.

“Alright, come here.”  

Tony stood up and placed his hands underneath Peter’s armpits, lifting him from the couch. With his arm around the kid’s middle they eventually made it to the bedroom, where Peter all but collapsed on the bed.

“Okay, kid, before you fall asleep…”

Tony looked around the room and then groaned when he realized that he’d forgotten to bring the oxygen mask from the med bay.

“Friday”, Tony said, sighing. “Is anyone in the tower close to the med bay?”

“ _I’m afraid not, sir. Everyone has gone to their personal floor, and most of them are already asleep._ ”

Tony ran a hand down his face. “Is there any way we can get someone down there to pick up Peter’s oxygen mask?”

“ _In the time it takes to wake them up and explain the situation Peter will most likely fall asleep. Perhaps Dum-E could bring it for you?_ ”

“No, I…” Tony sighed again and looked over at Peter, who was trying his hardest to stay awake without much success. “I’ll just go.” He ran a hand though Peter’s hair. “Hey, kid? I’m just going to quickly run down to the med to get you your mask, okay? It’ll only take a minute.”

Peter nodded, blinking his eyes to stop them from closing.

Tony made it down to the med bay and up to his suite again in record time, but when he burst into Peter’s room the kid was barely awake.

“Hey, kiddo”, Tony said as he lightly shook Peter’s shoulder and started the machine. Bruce had instructed him to increase the flow of oxygen to minimize the risk of another accident, and Tony did as he was told.

Which led to Peter’s eyes snapping open the moment Tony strapped the mask onto his face, grabbing at the tube as he took deep, quick breaths.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked worriedly, seeing the panicked expression on the kid’s face.

Peter shook his head and placed his hand on top of the mask to rip it off, but Tony quickly grabbed his hand before he could do so.

“Hey, hey, don’t, you need this.”

Peter just kept shaking his head and trying to grab at the mask with weak arms, and finally Tony understood that the flow was probably too intense for him to be able to relax. Should he maybe decrease it? But these were strict instructions from Bruce, and what if something happened again because he didn’t listen? He had to do as the doctor said.

But then he looked down at Peter, whose eyes were closed and had tears running down his cheeks, his breathing close to hyperventilation, and no, no, he couldn’t do this. He couldn’t.

With one hand grasping Peter’s, he reached into his pocket and fished out his phone. He took a deep, shuddering breath as he scrolled through the contacts, looking for May’s number. He couldn’t do this. How could he ever think that he was fit to be a father? He couldn’t just sit here and watch Peter struggling for air while crying, all because of him.

He was just about the press the dial button when he felt a small pressure again his hand. It was barely noticeable, but he looked up and saw Peter gazing at him. His breathing hadn’t slowed, but it sounded less panicked, and he’d stopped crying.

Tony took another deep breath and put his phone back into his pocket. He had to be strong. For Peter.

He stayed with Peter for almost half an hour, squeezing his hand and mumbling low, comforting words, until he finally fell asleep. Tony watched him for another two minutes to make sure he was really sleeping, then silently got up and left the room.

He walked into the living room, rubbing his eyes with a groan. He glanced toward the kitchen, but decided he wasn’t hungry, even though he definitely was.

Then he sneaked a small glance toward the bar, and damn, he _definitely_ craved that.

He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned on his heel, making his way toward his bedroom instead.

“Friday”, he spoke up as he changed into his pajamas. “Set up a protocol to alert me if Peter stops breathing or his machine stops working.”

“ _Yes, sir._ ”

He collapsed onto his bed with a groan, the exhaustion from the past two days immediately crashing over him and making him fall into a deep sleep.

 

-

 

He woke up from a loud alarm blaring throughout his room, and he quickly sat upright in his bed, trying to catch his breath.

“Friday”, he choked out. “What’s going on? Do we have to assemble?”

“ _No, sir, this isn’t an Avengers emergency._ ”

Tony stopped halfway out of bed, glaring up at the ceiling. “Then why are you sounding the alarm? For God’s sake, you’re going to wake Peter up, and he really needs his sleep to-“

“ _Peter hasn’t been breathing for approximately two minutes._ ”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!  
> See ya next time!
> 
> Edit: So I changed it from four to two minutes since I realized, much thanks to you guys, that Friday would’ve been able to wake up Tony or someone else in the tower way earlier, and it just doesn’t make sense that it would take that long :)


	35. Guardianship

It only took a few tries, but it felt like an eternity before Tony’s hand against Peter’s chest finally made the boy open his eyes with a deep gasp. 

Tony hushed and stroked his hair as Peter struggled to catch his breath, panicked eyes darting around the room. 

“It’s okay, kiddo”, he mumbled, quickly attaching the tube Peter had ripped off from the mask in his sleep. The sudden flow of air only added to Peter’s panicked expression, but he relaxed soon when it helped ease his breathing. 

Tony stayed on the edge of the bed, watching Peter’s eyelids getting slowly heavier.

_ Fuck it, _ he thought, walked around the bed, and crawled in. Peter looked up at him, confused, but closed his eyes again when Tony ran a hand through his hair. “Just go back to sleep, kid. I’ll be right here.”

Soon Peter’s breathing evened out as he fell asleep, but Tony stayed wide awake, the adrenaline from the panic not really having left his body yet. 

The same feeling of hopelessness from earlier started making its way back. Once again he was tempted to call May for help, but decided that she needed to grieve in peace, and he knew that he had to be able to do this if he wanted to take on the role of Peter’s guardian. 

By reminding himself that May would soon be home and the sight of a calm, sleeping Peter finally made him relax and drift off. 

 

-

 

The dreamless sleep made it feel like only a few seconds before Tony was woken up again by a low, whining sound. He opened his eyes with a groan, looking at his surroundings. It took him a moment to remember where he was, and his eyes quickly darted to the boy next to him.

Peter was laying on his side, curled into a ball, letting out small whimpers. Tony quickly sat upright, thinking that Peter was having trouble breathing again, but he then heard that his breaths were even between the pitiful sounds.

“Hey, Peter”, he said, placing a hand on his shoulder and shaking it gently. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Peter opened his eyes and immediately caught Tony’s gaze, which made him realize that the boy had been awake. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, furrowing his brows and leaning in closer to Peter.

He snapped his eyes shut again, clenched his fists and let out another groan.

“Hey”, Tony said, shaking his shoulder once more, a bit firmer this time. He reached up and carefully pulled off the mask. “What is it?”

Peter looked up at him, and Tony felt the panic arise at the pained expression on his kid’s face.

“I-I don’t…” He cringed and took a deep breath. “I don’t feel so good.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Tony asked, quickly sitting up again. “Does anything hurt? Does your chest hurt? It’s okay, kiddo, I can get Bruce here in two minutes.”

But Peter was shaking his head. “No it-it’s not that.” He let out another whimper and pressed his clenched fists against his stomach. “I feel sick”, he mumbled. 

It took a moment for the wires in Tony’s head to connect, and then he leaped off the bed and into the personal bathroom to grab a bucket, just managing to deposit it next to Peter’s side before he started heaving into it. He sat down next to him and placed a hand against his back, rubbing it slightly, as Peter emptied his stomach of its scarce content.

“I’m sorry”, Peter choked out between sobs when he was finished, ducking his head in shame. 

“It’s okay, Peter, don’t apologize”, Tony said, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. He reached up to run a hand through his hair, but stopped when he felt how warm his forehead was. 

“Do you feel warm?” he asked, placing his other hand against Peter’s neck, which was just as hot. 

“Maybe a little”, Peter mumbled, still with his head down. Tony placed his hands on either side of his face and carefully lifted it up so that he could get a proper look at him.

“You’re pale.” He furrowed his brows. “Friday, is it the flu?”

“ _ That is a possibility, sir, but it’s more likely that the food poisoning hasn’t quite left his body yet. _ ”

Peter groaned, and Tony’s chest tightened. How much did this boy have to go through?

“Do you want to go back to sleep?” he asked, running his hand through Peter’s curls. 

He nodded, and Tony glanced over at the clock. 6:17. Well,  _ he _ sure wasn’t getting any more sleep, but he definitely didn’t want to leave Peter alone yet.

“Is it okay if you sleep on the couch?”

Peter nodded again, probably too tired to ask why.

“Okay. Let’s just, here.” He stood up and hooked his arms underneath the boy’s armpits to carefully lift him to his feet. With Peter’s arm around his shoulders and one of his around his middle, he slowly lead them to the living room couch, where he sat Peter down. He hurried to his room again, cleaned the bucket, and then brought it back to the living where he placed it on the floor in front of Peter. He then went to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of water.

“Here”, he said as he sat down next to Peter. “You can wash your mouth out with this. Just spit it out in the bucket.”

Peter did as told, and then took a sip of water, before leaning back and closing his eyes. 

Tony placed the bottle on the coffee and then turned back to Peter, who already looked like he was falling asleep. 

“Do you want a pillow?”

He cracked an eye open and nodded tiredly. Tony grabbed one from the end of the couch and gave it to Peter who, to Tony’s surprised, placed it against his side and leaned into him. It felt natural to wrap an arm around him and run a hand through his hair, and Peter relaxed noticeably from the gesture.

As Peter’s breathing slowed and evened out Tony wondered if he should put his mask on, but figured that he was close enough to notice if something happened and, well, the mask was a bit traumatizing for both of them. Also, F.R.I.D.A.Y would still alert him if his breathing stopped, and he could help Peter within seconds.

Speaking of. 

He looked up and glared at the nearest sensor. “Friday?”

_ “Yes, sir?” _

“You want to explain why you for some reason didn’t tell me that Peter had ripped his mask?” he hissed. Peter moved slightly against him, and he reached around with his other hand to rub the boy’s arm.

_ “The protocol given requires me to inform you only if Peter stops breathing or the machine breaks. It still worked after he’d ripped the tube from the mask.” _

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and took a deep breath, trying to get control over his frustration. “I thought I’d programmed you with some common sense.”

A beat. Then, “I’ll update the protocol.”

“You’d better.”

He sighed and grabbed a StarkPad from next to him, hoping that some work would distract him. He did also have a lot to catch up with from the past few days.

Peter got heavier and heavier against his side, until he eventually slid down with his head onto Tony’s lap. He kept running his hand through the boy’s curl, something he’d learned helped calm him down. Peter was still warm and hadn’t eaten anything since the evening before, but he decided to take care of everything after he’d gotten a good nap.

About half an hour later the elevator doors opened with a  _ ding _ , and Tony turned his head around to see which Avenger he had to scowl at for interrupting him so early in the morning, but froze when he saw who was standing behind him.

Pepper.

And boy, did she not look happy.

“Tony!” she hissed, the familiar  _ click-clack _ sound filling the room as she walked toward him. “You’ve been ignoring my calls for  _ two days _ after leaving in the middle of a meeting you’ve already bailed on-”

Tony hushed sharply, making her stop in her tracks with a deadly glare. He nodded toward his lap and Pepper leaned over the back of the couch with a frown, which disappeared when she saw Peter.

“Is that…?”

“Peter. Spider-Man.”

She nodded slowly. “May’s kid.”

He looked up, and there was something in her expression he couldn’t quite make out. 

“Is he okay?”

He instinctively ran a hand across his head. “Yeah. Well, except for the food poisoning.” He inhaled. “And apnea.”

Her eyes widened. “Wait, is- is that why you bailed?”

He nodded. “I’m sorry, Pep, but, well, I’m sure you understand that I had a lot on my mind.”

She didn’t nod, but didn’t argue either. She looked down at Peter again. “Shouldn’t he be wearing an oxygen mask if he’s sleeping?”

His grip tightened on the StarkPad. “I’ve got it under control, alright?”

She looked up at him, her face softening. A beat of silence passed.

“So…” She crossed her arms over her chest. “You want to tell me what’s going on?”

Tony looked down at Peter and brushed a few curls from his forehead.

“Does he know?”

He nodded. “Has for a few weeks.”

“And…?”

He shrugged. “He’s fine with it.”

She dropped her arms to her sides, then clasped her hands in front of her. “And where is… she?”

He looked up, but her eyes were on Peter.

“Family emergency. I’m taking care of him until she comes back.”

“Well, that’s awfully nice of you.”

Another beat of silence. He hovered his hand over Peter’s face, relaxing as he felt the hot breath against his skin.

“I’m becoming his legal guardian.”

She finally met Tony’s gaze with wide eyes. “You’re what?”

“And they’re moving in here when May comes back.”

Her mouth opened, but then closed. He waited as she processed it all.

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? You said he’s only known for a few weeks, and… now you’re becoming his parent. Isn’t it a bit too fast?”

“I know what I’m doing, Pepper.” He gave her a hard look. “And it’s actually none of your business.”

He immediately regretted his words when he saw the way her jaw clenched.

“I’m still allowed to care about you”, she said, her voice low.

He let out a sigh and ducked his head. “Pepper, I- … I’m sorry.”

“Don’t.”

“No, I mean, not just this, I’m-”

“I know. But don’t.”

The room went silent again. Tony kept looking down at Peter.

“I’ll try to set up a Skype interview. I’m not sure he’s even interested in doing business with you at all anymore, but I’ll do my best.”

The  _ click-clack _ sound started again, and he looked up to see her making her way toward the elevator.

 

-

 

Later that day Bruce came by to drop off the medicine, a daily pill, he’d made for Peter until he found a more permanent solution. He also told Tony that they now wouldn’t need the oxygen mask anymore, who argued a bit, but was deep down relieved they could throw away that god awful thing. 

He got some food into Peter, who managed to keep it all down, and by the time evening came around he was able to stand up and walk around by himself.

“Hey, Tony?” Peter said as he poured himself a glass of orange juice with only a slightly shaking hand. “Can I go to school tomorrow?”

Tony raised an eyebrow over his cup of coffee. “You sure that’s a good idea? Just this morning you could barely sit up by yourself.”

“Yeah, and look how much better I am now!” He opened his arms, spilling some juice in the motion. “I’ll be as good as new by tomorrow.”

“Nice try.” Tony finished his coffee and put the mug down on the counter. “You’re staying home at least one more day.”

Peter groaned in protest, and Tony slung an arm over his shoulders. “How about a movie? I’ll let you pick.”

He looked up with a small smile. “But you always let me pick.”

Tony let out a laugh as he led them toward the couch. “Oh, I’m definitely using that against you.”

 

-

 

“Peter?”

“Hm?”

“Do you want to go to bed?”

Peter cracked an eye open and looked up from where he was laying against Tony’s chest, nodding.

“Alright, kid.” Tony stood up and held Peter as they made their way to his bedroom. After putting the kid to bed he went to his own room to get ready as well. He knew he had a lot of work to catch up on, but when he walked out of the bathroom in his pyjamas it was impossible not to immediately go for the bed. God, he always thought the exhausting part of being a father would be at the baby stage.

A millisecond after his head hit the pillow though, his phone started ringing. He groaned, but knew that it was someone important since they’d gone through the  _ do not disturb _ setting.

“Hello?” he gruffed as he brought the phone to his ear, still laying down underneath the covers.

A light laugh was heard from the other end of the line.  _ “Well, hello to you too.” _

He immediately sat up straight, wide awake. “May?”

_ “Tony.” _

He gripped the phone tighter, as if that would hold on to her. “I miss you.”

A deep breath, and another small laugh.  _ “It’s only been a day, honey. But, well, I really miss you too.” _

“How’s everything going?”

_ “Oh, it’s fine. We managed to finish preparing everything today, and… now there’s only the actual funeral left.” _

God, how he wished he could hold her right now.

“Are you okay?”

She let out a small huff.  _ “I’m fine. It’s a lot, but… I’ll be okay. How are the two of you doing?” _

Tony bit his lip. He wanted nothing more than to get it all out of his system, but May was already going through so much and he didn’t want to add to it.

“Yeah, no, it’s going great. Peter’s feeling way better, and Bruce just finished his medicine today.”

_ “Oh, that’s great” _ , she exhaled, sounding relieved.  _ “So there’s been no complications?” _

“Nope.”

A beat of silence.  _ “You sure?” _

“One hundred percent”, he said, then bit his tongue for answering too fast.

She sighed.  _ “Tony?” _

He ran a hand down his face, taking a deep breath.

“Well… Peter stopped breathing last night.”

A gasp.  _ “Wait, is- is he okay?” _

“He’s fine, May. It was only for a minute, and I got it under control without having to get Bruce.”

_ “How is that even possible? Wasn’t he wearing an oxygen mask?” _

“He was, but that piece of garbage broke. Fortunately he won’t be needing it anymore now that he has the medication.”

She let out a sigh.  _ “And he’s been fine after? No signs of… I don’t know, something off?” _

“He’s been great, May.” He bit his lip. “Except… and this has nothing to do with the incident, but he got a bit sick this morning?”

_ “Sick? In what way?” _

“Well, Friday guessed that it was the food poisoning making a comeback.”

_ “He threw up?” _

“Yeah, but only once, and again, he’s much better now. You couldn’t have guessed it happened this morning.”

May took a deep breath.  _ “He’s okay?” _

“I promise.”

_ “Good.” _

It went silent. Tony debated whether or not to bring it up, but he was already telling her everything and she deserved to know.

“Pepper stopped by this morning.”

The silence stretched out for another beat before May answered,  _ “She did?” _

“Yeah, it was about the meeting in Japan. But, uh, Peter was sleeping next to me.”

May exhaled.  _ “Did you tell her?” _

“I did, and I’m sorry if you didn’t want me to, I just-”

_ “No, no, it’s fine. How’d she take it?” _

“She seemed a bit concerned, but otherwise… well, I honestly couldn’t really read her.”

Silence fell again, and Tony quickly changed topic before May could get into a bad train of thought. “Hey, I’m going to send the guardianship papers for you to sign, since you’re his adoptive parent. Though if you’d rather sign them when you’re home that’s fine, but if you want them to go through as soon as possible-”

_ “Wait, Tony, I- I’m not his adoptive parent.” _

“Huh?”

_ “I’m only his legal guardian. I never adopted him.” _

His breathing stopped as he tried to make sense of what she’d just said. He definitely wasn’t expecting that.

“Why?” was all he managed to get out.

_ “Well, when… when Peter’s parents passed away, Ben and I wanted custody as quickly as possible, and guardianship was easier than adoption. As time went by, we didn’t really think about it, and since we’re already related to him it didn’t matter.” _

Tony took a deep breath. “So that means, if I become his guardian, I’ll… have as much custody over him as you?”

She let out a small laugh.  _ “You will.” _

“You sure you wouldn’t mind that?”

_ “I’m sure.” _

The fluttering within him had started again, and he couldn’t help a smile. “I love you.”

_ “I love you too.” _

“And I love Peter.”

Another laugh.  _ “Me as well. Hey, do you know if he’s awake?” _

“I don’t, why?”

_ “I would just like to speak to him, but you don’t have to wake him up.” _

“Hang on, I can- … Friday, is Peter awake?”

_ “Yes, sir.” _

“Yeah, he is”, he said, standing up from the bed. “I’ll go into his room.”

_ “Thank you.” _

He walked up to Peter’s bedroom door and knocked lightly before carefully opening it. He saw Peter laying in his bed, his phone up in his face while typing something on it.

“Hey, kiddo. Whatcha doin’?”

He looked up at Tony with wide eyes and quickly turned off his phone. “Nothing. Just, uh, texting.”

Tony hummed. “MJ?”

Peter looked like he was about to deny it, but instead nodded, a blush spreading across his cheeks.

“Well, I have your aunt on the phone”, Tony said, deciding to spare him the embarrassment. He sat down on the edge of the bed.

“Really?” Peter’s eyes lit up and he quickly sat up straight.

Tony handed him the phone, and he was just about to get up and leave to give him some privacy, but Peter leaned against his side as he started talking to May.

The simple gesture made him warm inside, and he wrapped an arm around the kid’s shoulders.

His kid. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for another long wait, but I've made a writing schedule that hopefully allows me to post every second week from now on (probably on Sundays).  
> See ya next time!


	36. Peter and MJ sitting in a tree

By the time Wednesday evening came around, Peter was almost back to normal. The night before went without another incident, and Peter had walked around the penthouse restlessly the entire day. 

“Hey, Tony?” He said over the dinner table as they ate their Indian take out. “Can I please go back to school tomorrow?”

Tony huffed. “I’ve never met a teenager so eager to go to school. Or maybe it’s not the actual school you miss, but the people at it?”

Peter’s cheeks went red and he took a sip of water to try and hide it. “Maybe.”

“Well, you seem a lot better. If tonight goes well you can go tomorrow.”

The way Peter’s face lit up made it impossible for Tony not to smile.

 

-

 

“Promise you’ll call me if something feels wrong, okay?” Tony said for the billionth time as he parked the car. “If you feel dizzy, sick, your chest hurts-”

“Yeah, I get it”, Peter said with an eye roll. “If it makes you feel better I can call if I stub my toe, too.”

Tony gave him a small smile and huffed. “You can always call. For everything.”

Peter smiled back and then looked down at the backpack in his lap. “Well, I should, uh, probably get going.”

He turned around to open the door, but Tony reached an arm out, so he leaned back to let him open it instead. 

“Wow, that’s cold.”

Peter turned back around, and Tony arched an eyebrow at him, still with his arm outstretched.

“Oh, you mean, like, a- oh, okay.”

Tony let out a light laugh and leaned forward, and Peter didn’t hesitate close the distance between them and wrap his arms around the man.

“Have a good day, kiddo”, he mumbled into his hair.

“Thank you, dad”, Peter whispered back, then froze.

“I mean, uh, I don’t- I’m sorry-”

“Hey, don’t apologize.” Tony pulled back, looking him in the eyes. “It’s fine.”

Peter dropped his gaze. “But, I mean… you’re not, at least not yet.”

Tony placed a hand on his shoulder. “May’s signing the papers today.”

He looked up again. “She is?”

Tony nodded. “They sent them earlier this morning, after you’d signed them.”

“But… Now? Shouldn’t we wait until it’s over and she’s home?”

He gave a half shrug. “That’s what I said, but she wanted it to go through as soon as possible.”

Peter nodded slowly, taking it all in. It was really happening.

“And, Peter.” Tony gave his shoulder a squeeze. “Even if it isn’t official, I don’t mind it. You calling me that, I mean.”

Peter gave him a small smile and nodded. 

“Alright, get going now, squirt”, Tony said, leaning forward to open the door. “I’ll pick you up at three.”

Peter hugged him one last time and then got out of the car. They had parked a few blocks away from the school to avoid any attention, but he didn’t mind the walk. 

When the building came into his line of vision his phone buzzed. He fished it out of his pocket and looked at the screen. It was from MJ. 

_ Meet me at the benches _

Peter arched an eyebrow at the ominous text, but did as told. He walked past the steps and rounded the side of the building, where there was a sitting area with a few benches surrounded by trees. It was usually pretty empty before school started, and today was no exception. 

On the bench farthest away he spotted someone sitting with their back to him. As he walked closer he noticed a familiar bundle of curls, and he picked up the pace. His footsteps made the person turn around, and he felt relief flood through him as he saw MJ for the first time in days. 

“MJ”, he breathed, stopping in front of her. He had more to say, how much he’d missed her, but before he could get another word out she turned around and threw herself at him, wrapping her arms tightly around him. 

“Peter”, she mumbled into his neck, squeezing him harder. He immediately wrapped his own arms around her, hugging her close. 

He didn’t know how long they stood like that, just holding each other, but all too soon the bell rang, bursting their bubble. MJ reluctantly withdrew her arms, but didn’t step back. 

“I guess we have to go”, she said, looking him in the eyes. 

He nodded, grabbed her hand and was about to start walking toward the steps, but she grabbed his chin with her free hand and leaned in, pressing her lips against his. He sighed into the kiss, reaching up to run his hands through her wild curls. 

She leaned back with a light laugh, biting her lip. “Alright, now we  _ really _ have to go.”

He sighed again, this time for a completely different reason, and grabbed her hand again. They started walking, but before they had rounded the building he squeezed her hand and leaned in toward her ear, whispering, “I’ve missed you so much.”

She stopped in her tracks and turned toward him, a small smile on her lips. She leaned in and burrowed her face in his neck, probably to hide her vulnerable emotions. “I’ve missed you too”, she mumbled. “So much.”

 

-

 

Tony was elbows deep in his new project when the music was cut off, and instead F.R.I.D.A.Y’s voice rang out throughout the workshop,  _ “Sir, you have an incoming call from Peter.” _

“Answer it”, he grunted, reaching for a towel to wipe off the oil that was up to his biceps. 

_ “Hey, Tony” _ , Peter’s voice echoed from the speakers. He let out a sigh of relief from hearing that his voice was calm. 

“Hey, kiddo”, he answered. “Everything alright?”

_ “Yeah, yeah, it’s fine. We’re, uh, actually having lunch right now, and we’re sitting outside since the weather’s so great. Um, by ‘we’ I mean MJ and I since Ned’s sick, so we thought, you know, let’s sit- ouch, MJ! Alright, I’ll get to the point.” _

Tony let out a chuckle. Apparently not everyone was immune to Peter’s babbling. 

_ “Well, uh, I just wanted to ask if it’s okay if MJ comes home with me- or, uh,  _ us _ , after school.” _

“I don’t see why not.” He frowned. “You sure you’re up to it though?”

_ “Oh, yeah, don’t worry, I feel great.” _

“Good.” He smiled. “Hey, how about I make us some dinner later? I want some bonding time with my future daughter in-law.”

_ “Uh, we’re not, uhm…” _ He could practically  _ hear _ Peter’s cheeks flushing.

“Relax, kid. I’m joking.”

_ “Oh, okay.” _

“Well, I’m not saying it’s  _ not _ true, but-“

_ “Alright, I’ll see you at three, bye!” _

A beep, then it went quiet. 

_ “Peter has hung up, sir.” _

“So he has. But I guess it’s justified.”

Tony threw the towel onto the workbench and walked toward the garage. He had some grocery shopping to do. 

 

-

 

A hand clasped onto Peter’s shoulder without any waning, making him startle and almost drop his books. He quickly turned around, and sighed when he saw MJ behind him. 

“ _ Jesus _ , MJ.”

She leaned against the locker next to his, a shit-eating grin plastered on her face. “Wait, you actually got scared? I thought you had that spider-sense thing going on.”

He huffed. “That’s only for threats.” With an arched eyebrow, he added, “and you’re really not that threatening.”

She mimicked his expression. “Is that a challenge?”

He let out a laugh and closed his locker. “Alright, Tony’s waiting for us. Let’s go.”

She didn’t move. “You scared, Parker?”

“Of course not!” he insisted. “I’m just… if you triggered, uh,  _ it _ , I might not be able to control my instincts and accidentally hurt you.” 

She hummed. “Yeah, no, I don’t think so. You’re just scared of me.”

He opened his mouth, but then closed it again. He couldn’t really argue with that. 

They made their way out of the school and toward the block Tony had said he’d parked at. As they walked MJ’s hand continually brushed against Peter’s, and since he figured it might be a bit annoying to her he clasped his hands behind his back. 

“God, Peter, can’t you take a hint?”

He turned to her, furrowing his brows. “Huh?”

“Or do you just really not want to hold my hand?”

He frowned at her for another second, then opened his mouth in a silent  _ oh _ , looking down at her hand. 

“Uh, yeah, I mean no, of course I do.”

He reached out and grabbed her hand, intertwining their fingers. He looked up and saw a small smile on her lips, which, as usual, made him warm inside. 

“Your hand is soft”, he mumbled. 

“Well.” She looked up at him. “Yours is sweaty.”

He huffed, but couldn’t help a smile himself. 

They soon reached the car, and Tony got out to greet them, dressed in sunglasses and a hood. 

“I’m trying to be low-key”, he explained. “But I’d probably still wear this even if I wasn’t. This is cool, right?”

After exchanging a look, Peter and MJ got into the car and they drove off. 

They reached the tower within twenty minutes, and Tony pull up close to the entrance to, as usual, avoid too much attention.

MJ looked around with wide eyes as they walked through the enormous lobby, which was now filled with staff. Tony had explained that it was for security now that Peter and May were moving in.

“Yeah”, Peter huffed, reaching up to rub his neck. “It’s, uh, a bit over-the-top.”

“It sure is”, MJ responded, matter-of-factly. She shrugged. “I’m just thinking about how the cost of this room alone probably could feed a few countries.

Without missing a beat, or even turning around from where he walked in front of them, Tony said, “And I’m sure you haven’t read about all the projects on ending world hunger SI is working on, and has been since before you were even born.”

Peter glanced over at MJ, who was staring ahead blankly, but her lips were slightly pursed. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. 

They thankfully reached the penthouse without any further arguments between Tony and MJ, but she was eyeing the suite even more sceptically. He dragged her with him for a quick tour and they then went into his room to hang out until dinner was ready.

“This place sure is big for just three people”, MJ said, dropping her backpack to the floor and plopping down on Peter’s king-sized bed.

“Yeah”, he said a bit sheepishly with a small laugh, sitting down next to her.

“Why couldn’t he just have moved into your apartment, and used all this space for something better, like, I don’t know, a homeless shelter?” She clasped her hands behind her head and propped her feet up on Peter’s lap.

“Well, I agree, but, you know, he’s used to having all this space, and here he has the team, the workshop… But, hey, let’s not talk about this right now, okay?”

She let out a sigh. “You’re right.” She propped herself up on one of her elbows and reached a hand out to grab Peter’s arm, pulling him toward her. “Come here”, she mumbled.

The change of tone in her voice made Peter obey without really thinking about it, and he lay down next to her. She rolled onto her side and hooked a leg around his waist, making his breath hitch.

“I’ve missed you”, she whispered, tracing a finger along his jaw. She then froze momentarily, before continuing, “I- I was…” Her gaze lowered. “I was so scared. When I woke up and you-”

He hushed and cupped her cheek, leaning forward so that his forehead touched hers. “I’m okay now. Everything’s okay.”

“And then when you went away”, she kept going as if he hadn’t said anything, “I was so scared that you weren’t coming back.”

“Of course I was”, he insisted, stroking his thumb across her cheek. “I won’t leave you, Michelle.”

Her lips then abruptly pressed against his in a hard kiss. He kissed her back, and as it grew more and more hot and intense he also noticed an edge of desperation. As if all the worry and pain from the past few days was coming out in this kiss, and they just needed to know that the other person was actually there.

MJ pushed herself up onto her knees, so that she was straddling his lap while leaning down, kissing him. Peter felt both his breathing and heartbeat speed up, and he reached down to rest his hands on the back of her thighs. 

After a moment she grabbed the collar of his shirt as she straightened, making him sit up with her. She quickly grabbed the hem, pulled the shirt off and threw it onto the floor, and then wasted no time in running her hands up and down his torso. When Peter had gathered some courage he grabbed the hem of her shirt as well, but that made he pull back.

“Oh, did you not want that?” He looked up at her. “I- I’m sorry, I thought you-”

“Peter it’s okay.” She ran a hand through his hair, biting her lip. “I do want you to, it’s just… I’m not wearing anything underneath.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. I don’t care, the question is if  _ you  _ do. Which is fine if you don’t, you know.”

Peter gulped, and pulled the shirt off.

He kept his gaze locked with MJ’s, who eventually arched an eyebrow. “You can look, you know.” She sounded confident, but he could hear the slight nervousness in her voice.

He took a deep breath and looked down.

“And, um…” She ran a hand up his neck, through his hair. “Touch.”

“You sure?” he asked, looking up again.

She nodded, and added a low, “Please”, as she scraped her fingers across his scalp.

The hesitation left Peter, and he reached up to carefully cup her in his hands. MJ arched her back, pressing herself toward him.

“You’re beautiful”, Peter whispered. She exhaled and let out a light laugh, then leaned in to kiss him.

He kept moving his hands against her during the kiss, stroking and caressing, making her let out low, breathy moans.

“MJ”, he whispered against her lips. “We have to be quiet.”

“Then shut up”, she whispered back, but there was no real heat behind her words and he let out a low laugh.

They kept going like that for a while, and eventually MJ started moving her hips ever so slightly in Peter’s lap, which soon turned into full-on grinding.

It was now extremely hard to stay quiet, and Peter had to press his face into the crook of MJ’s neck to muffle his sounds. She rested her chin on top of his head, tugging at his hair.

She then grabbed his hands from her chest and moved them to her hips. He quickly caught on and grabbed them tightly to help her with the rhythm and pressure. His head tipped back with a low moan at the feeling, but he heard MJ let out a sound of frustration.

“What’s wrong?” he asked, a bit breathless, looking up at her.

“It’s not enough”, she said, her brows furrowed.

“What? It’s -  _ ngh _ \- amazing.”

“I’m not as sensitive as you.”

With a sigh she grabbed his wrists to stop him, then got off his lap and sat down next to him on the mattress.

“Uh, are we done?” he asked, confused.

“Definitely not”, MJ said, and started unbuttoning her pants. Peter was so completely mesmerized by the sight of her in just underwear, he at first didn’t notice that she’d placed her hands on his belt.

“I’m going to take these off, okay? I’ll leave your underwear on.”

It took him a moment to process what she’d said, and he then nodded.

“Verbal consent, please.”

“Uh, yes. Please do.”

His heartbeat quickened further at the sight of her half-smile, and she began to unbuckle his belt. 

When his pants were off and on the floor, where she had dramatically flung them, she got up on top of him again. None of them could hold back a low moan when she sat back down; it felt impossibly better now that there was less clothing between them.

They picked up where they had left off, and soon Peter felt himself getting closer to the edge.

“MJ”, he breathed helplessly into her neck, clutching her hips tighter. “I’m -  _ ngh _ \- I’m close.”

She whispered encouragingly into his ear, and shorty after he reached his peak, shuddering against her with his arms wrapped around her waist. When he’d come down from his high and his breathing had calmed somewhat, he looked up at her.

“Did you- …?”

She shook her head, threading her fingers through his hair. “It’s okay. Watching you get off is enough for me.”

He furrowed his brows. “But do you want to?”

She looked at him for a moment, then nodded. “I can do it by myself, it’s fine. I’ll just-”

“Wait, just, uh…” He locked an arm around her and scooted back until he was leaning against the headboard, then grabbed her hips, lifting her slightly, and placed one of his feet flat on the mattress to raise his thigh.

“Um, you can sit down on. If you want to.”

She pressed herself against him and let out a groan, tipping her head back. Her hips started moving, and Peter quickly grabbed on to help her again. 

It didn’t take long for her to reach the edge as well, and he held onto her as she relaxed and leaned against him, gently stroking her back.

They stayed like that for a while until Peter eventually slid down the headboard, still with MJ in his arms, and laid them down on the mattress. She pressed her forehead against his, and he felt her hot, fast breaths on him.

“I need a shower”, she mumbled after a moment.

“Me too.”

But none of them moved, and the last thing Peter felt was MJ pressing herself closer so that her full body was against his, before falling asleep. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this!  
> See ya next time! (which is probably/hopefully in two weeks)


	37. Forget me not

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back!  
> I'm so sorry for being away for such a long time, but life has just been crazy lately and I really needed a break. I feel very well-rested now, and will do my best to keep updating every second week!  
> With that said, I hope you enjoy this chapter :)

A loud bang made its way into Peter’s conscious, pulling him from his haze of sleep. He opened his eyes, sat up, and tried to figure out where he was. Oh, right, this was his new room at the tower. But it was bright outside, why was he sleeping during the day?

He looked over to his left, and his memory came flooding back to him in an instant. Next to him lay a half-naked MJ, fast asleep. Her curls were wild where they lay on the pillow, her full lips slightly parted and a deeper shade of red than usual. God, he could just look at her all day…

Another bang echoed throughout the room, making Peter jump.

“Can you please respond so that I know you’re alive in there?” he heard Tony shout from the other side of the door. “Well, I had F.R.I.D.A.Y check, but still… Come on out or dinner’s going to get cold!”

_ Shit. _ “Uh, yeah, we’ll be right out!” Peter called back. Tony grumbled something in reply and walked away.

He quickly turned back to MJ, who had started to stir slightly, and placed a hand on her shoulder, shaking it gently. 

“Hey, MJ? Come on, you have to wake up.”

She slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room, seemingly as confused as Peter had been. Her gaze then locked with Peter’s, and a smile formed on her lips.

“Hey”, she sighed, rolled over onto her side and pushed herself up on an elbow. Her hand made its way up his side, slowly moving down his abs. “I gotta be honest, I never thought you’d have it in you. That really was ama-”

“Uh, I don’t mind the, um, pillow talk, but…” He grabbed her hand before it reached the hem of his underwear. “We’ll have to take a rain check. Tony’s been calling us for a while, and he’s getting suspicious.”

She turned her gaze toward the door and quickly sat up. “Shit. We have to get dressed.”

“Yeah, uh…” Peter reached up to rub his neck. “I should probably get cleaned up first.”

She looked back over at him and glanced down at his underwear, letting out a small huff. “Yeah, you must be in a really sticky situation right now.”

“Ha ha.” He stood up on wobbly legs and made his way toward the bathroom, but stopped and front of the door, turning around. “Do you want to borrow something, like, uh, some clothes? If you’re, you know, um…”

“Soaked?”

He felt his cheeks getting hot and started fidgeting with a fabric of his underwear. “Uh, maybe?”

She smiled. “I’m fine, thanks. Well, you’re right, but I’ll just go commando.”

He furrowed his brows. “Commando?”

“Yeah? No underwear?”

“Oh.” His blush increased. “Well, I’m just gonna…” He motioned to the door behind him.

“Maybe you should bring some new clothes with you?”

“Oh, yeah, right.”

He picked up his clothes from the floor and a new pair of boxers from a bag he still hadn’t unpacked yet, and went into the bathroom. When he came back MJ had put her clothes back on and fixed her hair, put there wasn’t much she could do about her swollen lips and flushed cheeks. He opened his mouth to, for probably the billionth time, tell her how beautiful she looked, but was cut off by another bang at the door.

“What are you guys doing in there? Seriously,  _ come on _ .”

They quickly walked over to the door, opened it, and was met by Tony in the doorway. He arched an eyebrow, studying them. 

“That took some time.”

Peter cleared his throat and put his hands in his pockets. “Yeah, sorry. We were just, uh, studying, and really wanted to finish this one Spanish homework before dinner.”

“Mm-hm.” Tony let out a humorous huff and turned around, walking toward the dining area in the living room. “Hurry up now, food’s never as good reheated.”

They all sat down at the dinner table, Peter next to MJ and Tony in front of her. 

“I know just spaghetti with tomato sauce is pretty simple”, Tony said, a bit sheepishly, which was very much unlike him, “but I wanted to make something vegetarian, and, well, this is probably the best I can manage and make edible.”

MJ looked a bit incredulous and cleared her throat. “Uh, thanks. That’s really… thoughtful.”

“No problem.” Tony flashed one of his cheekiest smile and started passing the food around. 

They started making small talk, which, thankfully, didn’t include any political arguments. Well, except for when Tony teasingly told MJ that  _ real _ vegetarians wouldn’t kill lice or smack mosquitos, but she quickly shut him down by saying that she sure wouldn’t hesitate to knock a human out if they bit into her. That drew a laugh from both Tony and Peter, and he could swear there was a hint of MJ’s half-smile on her lips.

When they had all finished their food Tony suddenly looked up at Peter with excitement in his eyes. “Hey, I forgot to tell you, the papers went through earlier.”

“You mean, as in the legal system?”

Tony nodded, and a huge smile formed on Peter’s lips.

“What papers?”

MJ looked between the two of them with furrowed brows, and Peter felt his smile fade.

“The guardianship papers?” Tony said, arching an eyebrow. 

She turned to Peter. “Tony’s becoming your guardian?”

His heart ached at the sight of her hurt expression.

“I- I never told you?”

She shook her head.

“Well, I, uh… I think I wanted to tell you in person, but everything was so dizzy at the hospital, and… I don’t know, I guess I thought I’d told you?”

“But you didn’t!” she spat, her sudden outburst making Peter jump in his seat. She took a deep breath to compose herself, then stood up from her chair. “Excuse me.”

“MJ, wait!” Peter called out, quickly standing up and going after her as she made her way toward his bedroom. He caught up with her at the doorway, but she slammed the door in his face, making him take a step back from the surprise. He let out a sigh, waited a few moments, and then carefully opened the door.

She sat on the bed with her back to him, silent and still. He slowly approached her and sat down at the head of the bed, next to her. She stayed still, didn’t acknowledge his presence. His hand hovered above her shoulder, but he bit his lip and dropped it to his side.

“MJ”, he sighed, looking up at her even though she was turned away from him. “I’m really sorry. I- I have no idea how I could forget to tell you about it. It must’ve been the drugs messing with my head”, he added jokingly, but there was no reaction from her.

“It’s not like I didn’t  _ want _ to tell you, I did, but I guess… I don’t know.”

Still no answer.

“Can you at least talk to me? Please?”

Without turning around, MJ said, matter-of-factly, “Saying you forgot to tell me is a shitty excuse, since you remembered to tell me you were moving in here.”

Peter started fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. “Well, maybe… I didn’t really believe it myself.”

Finally MJ looked back at him, a frown on her face. “What do you mean?”

“I just…” He looked down at the mattress, rubbing his neck. “It’s a bit hard to believe, you know? That  _ the _ Tony Stark would become guardian of some… some kid from Queens, and I guess it hasn’t really sunk in yet. I’ve actually… I’ve been a bit sceptical ever since Tony became my, uh, mentor. What if… what if he wanted Spider-Man, and I just came with it?” Peter had started rambling, and out came things he hadn’t even realized bothered him until now.

“You really feel that way?”

He shrugged, and MJ let out a sigh.

“Why didn’t you talk to me about it?”

“I don’t know, I just… I’m sorry.”

MJ turned around fully and sat down in front of Peter. “This is the kind of stuff we’re supposed to tell each other.”

Peter nodded and buried his face in MJ’s shoulder, wrapping his arms around her. “I know. I’m sorry, I’ll do better.”

She started running her hands through Peter’s hair as they sat in silence. A few moments later she said, “Tony really loves you, you know.”

He didn’t know what to respond, and just relaxed in her warm embrace as she continued, “I mean, I haven’t been with the two of you all that much, but from what I’ve seen it’s clear that he cares a lot about you. Spider-Man or not.”

Peter tightened his arms around her. “Thank you.”

She let out a huff. “It’s just facts.”

“Well, they help.”

They stayed like that a few moment longer, until Peter started leaning back far enough to see her. “I really am sorry.”

She nodded. “Just… talk to me, okay? Communication and all that shit.” She looked down and started fiddling with her shirt. “Having you keep things from me really sucks, whatever the reason may be.”

Peter’s chest tightened, and he knew that this wasn’t just about Tony becoming his guardian. “I’m sorry, I- I’ll do better. I do want to talk to you, because I really, I…” He took a deep breath. “MJ, I-”

“Peter.”

“No, really, I-”

“It’s fine. I get it.”

He furrowed his brows and opened his mouth to say something, but before he managed to get another word out she leaned forward and crashed her lips against his in a hard kiss. He kissed her back, too distracted by everything  _ her _ to form a coherent thought.

She crawled onto his lap, pulling back for a second to make sure she sat down on the right spot, and that pause gave him just enough time to get himself somewhat under control.

“MJ”, he mumbled when she leaned down again, turning away slightly. When he knew she’d stopped he looked back at her. “What’s wrong?”

She looked at him for a moment and then sighed, sliding down his lap and onto the mattress next to him, but didn’t say anything.

“Hey.” He cupped her cheek, making her look up at him. “What is it?”

“I just… I don’t want you to say it.”

His brows furrowed. “Why not? Is it uncomfortable?”

She bit her lip and looked away from his gaze. “No. Not really. I… It feels wrong when only you say it, you know, without me saying it back.” Her fingers shook slightly as they started fiddling with the hem of her shirt. “And I’m still not ready to say it yet.”

Peter placed a hand on her shoulder, lightly stroking his thumb across the fabric of her shirt. “MJ…”

MJ let out a short, humorless laugh and dropped her face in her hands. “God, I’m a fucking mess.”

“Of course not!” Peter cried, wrapping his arms around her shoulders and pulling her into a hug. He buried his face in her hair and felt her nestle hers against the crook of his neck. “It’s okay, MJ”, he said, stroking his hands up and down her back. “You don’t have to say it, it’s okay. I don’t want you to say it until you’re ready.”

She hummed and relaxed her body against his, wrapping her arms around his middle.

“I could wait fore-”

“If you’re going to say that you  _ could wait forever for me to say it _ again, I  _ will  _ punch you.”

Peter let out a huff, but otherwise stayed silent. A few moments passed before MJ mumbled against his neck, “And since we’re already talking and all that, I guess it feels kind of weird when you say it because… it’s hard for me to believe.”

“When I say what?”

“That you… you know.”

“Oh.  _ Oh _ .”

He quickly pulled back to stare incredulously at her. “What are you saying?”

She shrugged and avoided his gaze. “I just… don’t really see what parts of me could make someone feel that way.”

Peter’s heart ached, and not just from hearing her talk about herself in that way, but he couldn’t help the small feeling of joy from realising that she was comfortable enough around him to talk about her insecurities. 

“MJ, you… You’re amazing, okay? Don’t ever forget that. And me lo- … feeling this way about you totally makes sense.” He reached up to cup her cheek. “You’re… really pretty.”

She arched an eyebrow at him. “And therefor I have value?”

“No, no!” He shook his head, eyes widening. “That’s not what I m-”

She laughed lightly, cutting him off. “I’m messing with you.”

He let out a relieved sigh, mimicking her smile.

His favourite half-smile formed on her lips as she cocked her head to the side. “You’re pretty too.”

And in that moment, there wasn’t much he could to except lean in and kiss her. She immediately kissed him back, reaching up to place her hands against the back of his neck and head, threading her fingers through his hair.

“There’s so much more about you, you know”, he said after pulling back, gasping slightly. “You’re more than just looks. You’re so smart, like super smart, and you’re personality is ama-”

“Yeah, Peter, I get it”, she mumbled against his lips. “You have enough reason to love me.”

He smiled and wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pulling her closer. “I do.”

She leaned down and pressed a kiss against his lips, which he happily returned. They quickly picked up where they had left off, and it soon started getting heated between them.

MJ shifted her hips, pulling a restrained groan from Peter. She grinned and started rolling her hips, adding more pressure. Peter dropped his hands to her thighs and squeezed, hard. MJ whimpered and reached down to tug at the hem of his pants-

The sound of a ringtone made them both freeze, but MJ quickly raised one of her hands to squeeze Peter’s arm reassuringly. “I’ll turn it off.”

She got to her feet and went over to where her backpack lay discarded on the floor. Peter felt a bit awkward just sitting on the bed with his obvious, and quite uncomfortable, arousal. 

“Shit”, MJ said when she’d fished her phone out of the backpack.”It’s mom. I forgot to tell her I was coming here.” She looked over at Peter. ”Sorry, I’ve got to take this.”

“Yeah, of course.”

She nodded and then answered the call, greeting her mom briefly. After a short conversation she hung up with a sour look on her face.

“I’m sorry, but I’ve got to go. She’s pretty pissed I didn’t tell her.”

Peter tried to hide his disappointment as he nodded. “Oh, yeah, okay.”

She picked up her bag and flung it onto her shoulder, then looked expectantly at Peter. 

“Um, sorry, I’ll follow you out, just…” He shifted slightly and grimaced at the strain. “I’m going to need a minute. Or two.”

MJ furrowed her brows in confusion, but her face softened when she lowered her gaze. She dropped her bag onto the floor and plopped down on the edge of the bed. “Sure. Take your time.”

Peter nodded and leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes.

The minutes passed, but Peter’s hardness didn’t go down in the slightest. It was becoming annoying - and embarrassing.

“Uh, maybe i should just…” He placed his hands on the mattress, sitting up a bit straighter. “Take care of it.”

He started getting off the bed, but MJ placed a hand against his knee, stopping him. He looked up at her in confusion.

“Well, if you don’t mind, I could… help.”

She looked at him with an intense expression, her hand squeezing his knee.

“Do you?”

Peter gulped.

“Yes. I mean, uh, no! I don’t mind. Uh, you can, um… Yes.”

A small smile formed on her face and she started gently rubbing her thumb against the fabric of his pants. Slowly, she then started trailing her hand down the inside of his leg, but every few seconds she’d draw her hand back slightly before continuing her achingly slow pace. It felt like an eternity before she reached his inner thigh.

“You’re killing me”, he breathed between small gasps. Her hand then stopped completely, and he looked up to see her arching an eyebrow.

“Is that a challenge?”

He shook his head. “No, definitely not! I just… Please, MJ.” The last part basically came out as a whimper, and something in MJ’s gaze darkened. She started moving her hand again, quicker than before, and it soon pressed down in between Peter’s legs. He gasped, arched his back, and grasped the sheets so tightly his knuckles were whitening-

“Hey, kids, you alright in there?” Tony’s voice called from the other side of the door. “I hope you’re not still fighting. You haven’t broken up, have you?”

Peter dropped his head against the wall and let out a groan. “What have we done to deserve this?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed this chapter! See ya next time ;)


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